The Saskatchewan Roughriders are on a collision course with their former franchise quarterback and offensive coordinator, but neither side is putting any added stock into the matchup.
Friday’s game against the Montreal Alouettes will mark the first and only meeting this season between the tandem of Cody Fajardo and Jason Maas and their former employers. While the way both were unceremoniously shown the door following the 2022 season would be a valid source of extra motivation, the coach and QB are united in their dismissal of that idea.
“There’s obviously a little bit of attachment to a team that I was with for four years and played a lot of football games for but at this point in my career, I’ve played for four teams now. If I started having an arrow on all these teams, that’s pretty much every team in the league,” Fajardo told the Montreal media on Thursday. “That’s how the CFL goes. Because it’s fresh and this is the most recent team, obviously there’s a lot of buildup, a lot of hype that the media brings into it as well.”
“If this was the first week of the year with a full offseason buildup and it was in Saskatchewan, maybe it’s a little bit different feeling. But we’re eight games in and they’re nine games into their season,” Maas echoed. “We’ve all moved on.”
Fajardo spent three seasons in Saskatchewan, coming out of nowhere to become the team’s face of the franchise after an opening-week injury to Zach Collaros in 2019. He threw for 10,632 yards with 48 touchdowns and 32 interceptions with the club while also rushing 266 times for 1,436 yards and 22 scores, but fell out of favour during a disappointing 2022 season. He was hampered by a knee injury as the team suffered through protection issues, ultimately getting benched for the final two games.
Maas was the team’s offensive coordinator for the last two years of Fajardo’s tenure and took the brunt of the blame for the team’s struggles. The Riders parted ways with him immediately following the season but he failed upwards, landing the vacant head coaching job with the Alouettes. When Saskatchewan elected not to offer Fajardo a contract extension and instead went after Montreal’s Trevor Harris, the two green and white exiles reunited in La Belle Province.
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Ahead of their own reunion, Riders’ head coach Craig Dickenson insists the decision to move on from both men was nothing personal.
“We weren’t good enough on offence last year and there was a multitude of reasons but we felt like we needed to make a change, needed some fresh ideas and some new faces, and that’s why we did it,” he told reporters. “If we would have been successful, they’d still be here, but we weren’t good enough on offence and we felt like we needed to make changes.”
“I had a pretty good visit with Jason when we let him go and he understood. He didn’t like it, but he understood and he landed on his feet just fine. I would never wish anybody to not have success and I’m happy that they both have found a new home in Montreal and that they’re doing well. Hopefully, they’re enjoying working and living in Montreal.”
In 15 games last season, Fajardo completed 70.3 percent of his passes for 3,360 yards, 16 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He also rushed for 357 yards and eight majors, as Saskatchewan failed to make the playoffs.
Thus far in 2023, the 31-year-old has completed 67.0 percent of his passes for 1,877 yards, six touchdowns, and five interceptions while rushing for 174 yards and three scores. He and Maas have already led the Alouettes to four wins — just two fewer than their season total with the Riders last year — and appear to be the frontrunners for second place in the East Division.
The recent success has reignited the narrative that the two men were scapegoated for the Riders’ failings, a story that both leaned into at various points in the offseason.
“It’s too bad if they feel that way, that’s my response,” Dickenson said when asked about that suggestion. “I wish them all the best, except for this week.”
However, Maas insisted that any inference of bad blood between him and his former team was false.
“I’ve got great familiarity with those guys. Been in the locker room with them and shared some great memories,” he said. “I have no animosity. I’m not holding a grudge, I’m not holding anything. I just want to win every week, but it’s no different for me this week and for our team.”
Fajardo shares a similar fondness for his former teammates, though that may be more difficult to maintain after this week. While Maas is optimistic regarding his status, the quarterback is “a true game-time decision” as he pushes through an injury to his non-throwing shoulder.
He is doing everything in his power to be medically cleared for kickoff and trusts that while the Riders will hit his injured joint, it won’t be intentionally targeted.
“It’s a very physical sport. I know a lot of guys in that locker room and there’s a lot of good human beings in that locker room and it’s just the nature of football where you get hit and things happen,” he said. “I trust that those guys are going to go out and give me everything that they’ve got, just like I’m gonna go out there if I get the green light and give them everything I can.”
The quarterback’s questionable status has added an extra degree of intrigue to the already highly anticipated matchup. Still, neither side is willing to show their true emotions pre-game.
“It really doesn’t matter who we’re playing. Coaches say that all the time and most times, it really is true. You worry about your own team,” Dickenson explained.
“They’re a good football team though. Maas will have them ready to go and I’m sure Cody’s motivated to play well. They’re a really physical team across the board and their special teams are outstanding, so it’s gonna be a tough game regardless of who’s over there. The fact that it’s Jason and Cody, maybe that’ll add a little motivation on their side but not really for us. We’re trying to just play our best game and put our best foot forward.”
The Riders (4-4) and Alouettes (4-3) are set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. EDT on Friday, August 11 from Percival Molson Stadium in Montreal.
J.C. Abbott is a University of British Columbia graduate and high school football coach. He covers the CFL, B.C. Lions, CFL Draft and the three-down league's Global initiative.
