Arbuckle ready for whatever comes next in CFL career

An hour after the biggest moment of his professional football career, Nick Arbuckle and his four-year-old daughter, Aaliyah, shared a milkshake at Burger Crush, a 15-minute walk from BC Place. 

Arbuckle’s Argonauts had just stunned the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to win the Grey Cup, and the Toronto quarterback was named the game’s Most Outstanding Player

“It was delicious and amazing,” Arbuckle told TSN on Wednesday. 

Arbuckle, his wife Zakiyyah, and daughters Aaliyah and Ariyah walked back to the team hotel after the celebration, embracing the quiet time alone together as a family. Arbuckle and fellow Argos pivot Cameron Dukes had discovered Burger Crush during a previous road trip to Vancouver, and he was eager to show Zakiyyah. 

“We shared a chocolate shake, and I finally got to show my wife one of the places that I’ve been telling her about all season,” he added.

Arbuckle has been focused on being a dad and husband since the victory. On Tuesday, the Argos celebrated with their fans at Maple Leaf Square. A day later, Arbuckle was picking up Aaliyah from school and buying groceries. 

“We got back from Vancouver to find that there was really not many things to make for my kids’ lunch this morning before school,” he said. 

“Me and my wife have both been really looking forward to the end of the season so that I can be more present and immersed into our daily routine of school and taking care of the kids and going on dates with her…full husband and dad mode since the fourth quarter of the game and the confetti dropped.”

Arbuckle threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s championship game, leading the underdog Argonauts to a 41-24 win over the Blue Bombers. Three days later, he still hadn’t quite processed the accomplishment. 

“I don’t know if I ever quite will,” he said. “It’s been special, but at the same time, football is such a small part of my life and my identity. As cool as it is, it’s more fun and more amazing just to have more time to spend with my family these past few days.”

Arbuckle’s journey to that stage at BC Place has been well-documented. 

Before his CFL career took off, he was released by the BC Lions in 2018 and had applied to become an Uber driver. Arbuckle was tabbed as the league’s next star quarterback after he played well for an injured Bo Levi Mitchell with the Stamps in 2019, but never quite found his footing after stops in Toronto, Edmonton, and Ottawa. 

Arbuckle, now 31, has said he was looking for coaching jobs last off-season before the phone rang. Ryan Dinwiddie, the Argos head coach and once Arbuckle’s quarterback coach in Calgary, wanted to add veteran experience after starter Chad Kelly was suspended for the first nine games of the season.

Arbuckle had just two starts in the regular season and only got the call for the Grey Cup because Kelly got hurt during the East Final in Montreal.

The Californian said he has learned plenty about himself and life during his CFL journey.

“The plans that we make for ourselves, to really take that with a grain of salt,” he said. “Don’t put too much weight on them. Every step of the way, I always made plans for myself…I had a plan for how my future was going to happen and the timing of what was going to happen. Some things seemed so sure, and then they wouldn’t end up that way when I so heavily relied upon those plans. When those things wouldn’t come true, I would get discouraged and I would be emotionally really affected by it.”

Arbuckle pointed out that the two breakthroughs for him in the CFL – getting his opportunity in Calgary in 2018 and being named the Grey Cup M.O.P. six years later – both came just months after he feared his playing career was over.

“It might not look like it in the moment, but if something’s not going well at that time, it’s likely working for you and not against you to build you into [God’s] plans for you that you might not even know about yet,” he said. “Sometimes it’s in your darkest moments, when it feels like everything’s lost, that that breakthrough is just on the horizon.”

As for his future on the field, the pending free agent said that he wants to keep playing. 

He loves living in Toronto with his family. Zakiyyah is an actress and has started to establish her career in the city. Arbuckle did point out that the city can be tough to live in on a CFL backup quarterback’s salary.

“Toronto’s a market that’s not exactly easy to afford supporting a family of four on,” he said.

Arbuckle said he will use the unique perspective he’s gained during his CFL career as he looks to continue his story. 

“I’m trying my hardest this year to not have any plans for that and just kind of let other peoples’ plans for me come to light,” he said. “I’ve learned my plans aren’t always great. My plans don’t always work, so I’m going to let other people do that for me.”