Maas confirms Fajardo will start for Als in Week 12 matchup with Elks
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Quarterback Cody Fajardo is set to return to the Montreal Alouettes lineup when they take on the Edmonton Elks on Sunday.
Fajardo, 32, injured his hamstring during a Week 6 loss to the Toronto Argonauts after leading his team to a 5-1 start to the season.
Davis Alexander didn’t miss a beat when he stepped into the starting role, leading the team to four straight victories.
However, head coach Jason Maas wanted to make it crystal clear that Fajardo will play as long as he’s healthy.
“He’s our starting quarterback and when he’s ready and healthy, he’ll be playing,” Maas confirmed to TSN 690 on Wednesday. “Up until his injury, Cody was playing as good as anybody in the league and we were winning. He’s done nothing but be a great quarterback and led up to a Grey Cup title last season.”
In Fajardo’s absence, Alexander was a revelation for the Alouettes, throwing for 972 yards with six touchdowns and one interception.
Alexander’s strong play hasn’t been lost on Maas and still expects him to be ready should the team need him again.
“Davis filled in admirably, better than that, he proved that he belongs in this league,” said Maas. "He’s proved what we knew all along, what kind of quarterback he is. Every other quarterback [in our room knows] that their job is to be ready to play at any moment. I think they understand the difference in being a starting quarterback and a guy that has to be ready behind him.”
The Alouettes are going up against an Elks team that started the season 0-7 but has won three straight games heading into Sunday’s matchup.
Maas believes the Elks record is not reflective of the quality of their team and that the Alouettes are in for a fight.
“In my opinion, you could flip their record from 3-7 to 7-3 based on some of the parameters we look at, which we consider to be winning football,” said Maas. “They lost some games early in the season that were hard-fought games and went through a bit of turmoil within the organization.
“Obviously they’ve righted the ship and they rely heavily on being a physical football team, which is always a challenge.”
To echo Maas’ point, the Alouettes last played the Elks in Week 2, which resulted in a narrow 23-20 victory. Fajardo threw for 269 yards with two touchdowns in the victory while running back Walter Fletcher ran for 82 yards and added what ended up being the game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
“We always say that these are tough battled games and 64 per cent of games have been coming down to the last three minutes,” said Maas. “For us, we consider [the Elks] to be a 3-0 and we’re not going to be consumed about their record."