Maciocia: Fajardo ‘ahead of schedule’ in injury recovery
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Montreal Alouettes quarterback Cody Fajardo has missed the past two weeks due to a hamstring injury.
The 32-year-old seems to be on the road to recovery, as the Als removed him from the six-game injured list last Tuesday. He participated in practice but did not suit up for the team’s 33-16 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday.
Alouettes general manager Danny Maciocia appeared on TSN690 radio on Monday to discuss Fajardo’s recovery and said the starter is ahead of schedule in his recovery.
"He seems to be doing okay. I know he's ahead of schedule. Still got some work to do. He came out for practice today and did a few things,” said Maciocia. “With that type of injury the worst thing you can do is bring him back a week too soon and he re-injures himself for a longer period of time.
“We're going to be smart and strategic with him and when Cody tells us he's feeling better and, medically, he gets the green light and our coaches like what they see on the field then he'll just go back to occupying the quarterback position for us. We just want to be smart, especially when it comes to Cody.“
The 2023 Grey Cup MVP was injured in the first quarter of the team’s July 11 loss to the Toronto Argonauts. He has thrown for 1,636 yards with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions over six games this season.
Davis Alexander started at quarterback on Saturday with Fajardo out, the first of his CFL career, and led the Als to a win over the Ticats. He threw his first interception of the season, a pick six to Hamilton defensive back Kenneth George Jr., but Maciocia says the 25-year-old responded well to the adversity.
“[Davis] will forget it, go back out there and sling it again. That's the kind of guy you need to play that position. He's only going to be better for it. Those are all learning experiences and he was able to overcome it and find a way to win a football game,” said Maciocia.
Veteran quarterback Caleb Evans was injured in Saturday’s win and will miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury. The Als signed Dominique Davis to replace him on the roster and is expected to play this Saturday in a rematch against the Tiger-Cats.
“We know that [Davis] can run, be our short yardage specialist. He has a history of success running those packages. We're hoping it's going to be plug-and-play with Dom, probably on Saturday I think,” said Maciocia.
The Alouettes (7-1) sit atop the East Division standings as they take on the last place (2-6) Ticats for the second-straight week. Maciocia says the teams are familiar with each other and the outcome of their Week 10 matchup will come down to execution.
“They know our identity and I think we have a good feel of what they're doing on the other side. There's going to be some tweaks, a wrinkle or two that we haven't pulled out. I think both teams will do so and it's going to come down to the team that's going to execute them.