Montreal Alouettes’ head coach Jason Maas appears confident that franchise quarterback Davis Alexander will be ready to return to the lineup after the team’s bye week.
“He was close (to playing in Week 5),” Maas told the media after Montreal’s recent loss to the B.C. Lions. “We’ve got a bye week to get rest and the expectation is that Davis is back ready for us to play at home against Toronto (in Week 7).”
Alexander suffered a hamstring injury in Week 3, which prevented him from playing Montreal’s last two games. McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who was acquired via trade from the Edmonton Elks this offseason, started in his place and threw for 395 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions in losses to Hamilton and B.C.
Despite the veteran quarterback’s middling statistics, Maas seems pleased with the growth he saw from Bethel-Thompson as he continues to adapt to a new offensive system.
“I think he did some really good things. I think he threw some really nice balls. We had a drive that started on the two-yard line and he drove us all the way down the field. At the end of the game, there was a couple plays that we got into field goal range,” said Maas.
“Are there things to learn from? Absolutely, that’s everybody on our team. Everyone wants to talk about the starting quarterback. The starting quarterback doesn’t make every single play throughout the game. There’s three phases to our football team — it’s not one guy. Is he getting better, is he improving? Yeah, I see the improvement. I see the comfortability in the offence, the look in his eyes when we call plays. The understanding and everything, that’s continuing to grow and that’s what I’m excited about.”
Alexander threw for 803 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions over three starts to the year, going a perfect 3-0. He has yet to lose a game as a CFL starter dating back to his first start last season.
The Montreal Alouettes (3-2) are currently on a bye week. The team will return to the field on Thursday, July 17 against the Toronto Argonauts at Percival Molson Stadium.
