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The final third of a Canadian Football League season isn’t just when the playoff picture sorts itself out. It’s also when general managers make critical decisions about whom they want to re-sign and whom they don’t, and to which players they remain committed and which ones they plan to move on from.

It’s even more important in a season when the vast majority of quarterbacks playing meaningful downs are due to be free agents this winter. So it’s not just the teams that have some critical decisions to make at the end of this season – many of the league’s marquee quarterbacks will have some decision-making power as well.

That injects some additional intrigue into the final third of the schedule as the CFL’s quarterback carousel could be whirling this off-season like never before. 
 
Here’s a team-by-team look at what’s at stake at the game’s most important position and how things could play out beyond the 2018 season:
 
Toronto Argonauts

The Argonauts’ future at the quarterback position is about as muddled as it can be.

Toronto has started three different quarterbacks this season and none of them would seem to be in line for the no. 1 job next season, based on the way things have played out so far.

Ricky Ray has missed all but the first two games of the season, having sustained a season-ending neck injury in the Argos’ home opener. He turns 39 next month and, after contemplating retirement a year ago, it would be a surprise to most if he returns.

James Franklin, whom the Argonauts traded for last off-season and then signed to a two-year contract before he could hit free agency, has started four games, tossing one touchdown and six interceptions while his team went 1-3.

The starting role has since belonged to journeyman McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who led Toronto to wins in his first two starts but has also been the starter during the Argos current four-game losing streak ¬ – all games the Argos led at some point in the fourth quarter.

Presumably, falling mathematically out of the playoff race would open the door for Franklin to show he deserves further consideration for the starting role in 2019. After all, their aggressive move acquiring him a year ago is the kind of thing a team does when it thinks it’s making a bridge to the future.

He’s also the only quarterback on the active roster who is under contract for next season. 
 
Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Hamilton has Jeremiah Masoli under contract for another season and the 30-year-old has proven every bit worth the bet the Tiger-Cats made on him when they re-signed him last off-season.

Masoli, who toiled as a backup for five-and-a-half years, is the safest pick of any quarterback in the CFL to be starting with the same team at the start of next season, given his contract status, performance and the lack of serious competition on the roster. 

Hamilton’s no. 2 is Dane Evans, a 24-year-old rookie who’s attempted just three CFL passes. 
 
Ottawa Redblacks

Ottawa seems to be perpetually in a love/hate relationship with quarterback Trevor Harris who has games where he looks elite and others where he looks lost. 

Harris signed a one-year deal with the Redblacks at the end of last season. With Ottawa having a two-game lead atop the East Division, one has to assume that, barring something unforeseen down the stretch, the team would like to keep the 32-year-old.

The no. 2 quarterback in Ottawa, Dominique Davis, is in this third CFL season but has only played sparingly this season.
 
Montreal Alouettes 

Nothing has been less predictable this season than the Alouettes quarterback situation.

Consider that none of their three most recent starting quarterbacks – Johnny Manziel, Antonio Pipkin and Vernon Adams Jr. – were on their roster when the Als played their home opener on June 22.

The carousel has been spinning ever since, with moderate degrees of success for each quarterback.

Manziel has the starting job now and appears destined to keep it, based on the investment the Alouettes made in acquiring him back in July. Manziel has let it be known he expects to start in Montreal and the Als are giving him the opportunity to prove he deserves it.

What do they do if he struggles during their final five games? That’s an interesting question, especially since his contract next season calls for a base salary of $295,000 plus $7,000 per start. 

So in Pipkin and Adams (both pending free agents) and Manziel, the Als have three intriguing prospects but no true answer as of yet.

Clouding matters further is the uncertainty hanging over the future of general manager Kavis Reed. Montreal management hasn’t commented on his status, but with a record of 6-25 over two seasons it’s reasonable to wonder if he will be back.
 
Winnipeg Blue Bombers

The Bombers entered this season thinking that their starting quarterback role was set in stone for years to come. After all, Matt Nichols had his best season as a professional in 2017, throwing only eight interceptions in nearly 600 attempts. He led Winnipeg to a 12-win season and a home playoff game, and is under contract through 2019.

But Nichols, who was injured in training camp and missed the first three games of the season, has struggled this year and was benched for the second half of the Banjo Bowl before bouncing back last week against Montreal.

Rookie Chris Streveler has been impressive enough in three starts and spot duty that head coach Mike O’Shea waited the length of the recent bye week before naming his starter against the Alouettes. 

The next few weeks could be crucial to his future in Winnipeg as the Bombers have a tough schedule and may be in a dogfight for a playoff berth. If Nichols crumbles and the Bombers miss the playoffs, can Winnipeg sell him to their fans as the answer 2019?
 
Edmonton Eskimos 

This one might seem obvious, except that Mike Reilly’s contract expires at the end of the 2018 season.

The reigning CFL Most Outstanding Player has said he doesn’t intend to sign a new deal before a new CBA is agreed upon, unless the league waives its policy of refusing to pay off-season bonuses on new contracts.

That could leave Reilly in flux until a new CBA is done. If that takes until June, the Esks could be in a precarious position.

There is also speculation that Reilly could return to the BC Lions, the team he began his CFL career with before former Edmonton GM Ed Hervey, who is now operating the Lions, traded for him and gave him the path to become a star with the Eskimos. It’s worth noting that Reilly’s off-season home is in the Seattle area.

The Esks also have veteran backup Kevin Glenn, former Ottawa backup Danny O’Brien and practice roster rookie Zach Kline.
 
Calgary Stampeders

Another no-brainer on the surface that gets more complicated the deeper you dig. 

The first seven seasons of Bo Levi Mitchell’s career have been nothing short of spectacular and he seems as comfortable in Calgary as he would in his native Texas. 

But the 28-year-old is a free agent after this season. And while there might be little chance of him leaving for another CFL team, there may be opportunities waiting for him south of the border.

How good those opportunities are and how aggressively Mitchell plans to pursue them is anyone’s guess. But it’s worth noting that unlike a lot of American players in the CFL who have bounced around training camps and practice rosters for months or years before coming to Canada, Mitchell never did.

That may make it more appealing to him to test himself against NFL competition while he’s still at an age where he could transition to the league.

Mitchell’s backup, rookie Nick Arbuckle, has just 23 career pass attempts. 
 
BC Lions 

Another one that his hard to predict, given the inability of Travis Lulay to get through a season healthy and the inconsistent play of Jonathan Jennings, who began the season as the Lions starter before struggling and giving way to Lulay. 

Given that Lulay is 35 and hasn’t played anything close to a full season since 2012, it’s hard to see the Lions banking on him as their starter next season. And it would take one heck of a finish during the final third of this season for Jennings to win the organization’s confidence back. 

The Lions will also have a new head coach next season, making their quarterback situation among the most difficult to predict. 
 
Saskatchewan Roughriders

When Zach Collaros signed a one-year contract with the Roughriders, both the team and the player viewed the situation as one where both sides would use this season to evaluate whether this is a marriage that makes sense long-term. 

So how is it going? Well, the jury remains out. Collaros has missed time to concussions, which could be troubling for Saskatchewan, based on his health history.

On the field, the Roughriders have fewer passing yards and touchdowns than any team except Montreal and Collaros has thrown one more interception than touchdown. How the rest of the season plays out with Collaros’ health and performance could determine a lot about how they go into the off-season.

Backup Brandon Bridge is also a free agent at the end of this season. He has appeared in six games, but Saskatchewan’s use of both him and third-stringer David Watford suggests the Roughriders don’t believe he’s ready for a starting role.