The Montreal Alouettes have signed five American players for the 2026 season, including quarterback EJ Perry.
The six-foot-two, 210-pound passer joined the Alouettes in October and finished the 2025 season on the practice roster. He previously spent time with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans after going unselected in the 2022 NFL Draft, but never saw game action.
The 27-year-old started five games across two stints with the USFL’s Michigan Panthers, throwing for 785 yards, three touchdowns, and four interceptions to go 2-2. He also ran the ball 23 times for 151 yards and four scores. The native of Andover, Mass., also played for the Memphis Showboats of the UFL in 2025, where he completed 58.5 percent of his passes for 588 yards, two touchdowns, and five interceptions to go 0-4 as a starter.
Perry was twice named first-team All-Ivy League at Brown University, where he threw for 5,981 yards, 45 touchdowns, and 27 interceptions over 20 collegiate games.
Also signed were defensive lineman Westley Neal, offensive lineman R.J. Perry, receiver Giles Jackson, and defensive back Terrence Spence.
Neal attended the University of Rhode Island, where he was a first-team all-conference selection in 2024. In 42 games across four seasons, the six-foot, 315-pound defensive tackle recorded 121 defensive tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, an interception, and three blocked kicks.
Perry, who is of no relation to the quarterback, attended the University of South Florida, making 18 starts across 21 appearances. He saw action at every position except centre, though he primarily played left tackle. The six-foot-six, 330-pound blocker began his college career at Tennessee, playing 20 games after converting from defensive line as a freshman.
Jackson broke out as a super senior at the University of Washington in 2024, recording 85 catches for 893 yards and seven touchdowns. The five-foot-eight, 187-pound speedster began his career as a returner with the University of Michigan, before transferring to the Huskies after two seasons. In 64 college games, he logged 159 receptions for 1,723 yards and 10 touchdowns, while rushing for two touchdowns and adding two more on kickoff returns. The 23-year-old signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent, but was released in training camp.
Spence transferred to James Madison University as a senior and earned second-team All-American honours at cornerback, making 38 total tackles, seven pass breakups, five interceptions, one forced fumble, and two blocked kicks. The six-foot-two, 200-pound cover man spent the previous four seasons at Holy Cross, amassing 84 total tackles, 22 pass breakups, four interceptions, a forced fumble, and six blocked kicks in 35 FCS games.
The Montreal Alouettes finished second in the East Division standings in 2025 with a 10-8 record and beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Final before losing the 112th Grey Cup to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Davis Alexander went 7-0 as a starter during the regular season, though he missed 11 games due to a hamstring injury.
The Alouettes ranked eighth in net offence, first in net defence, and third with a turnover differential of plus-eight. The club’s leading rusher was Stevie Scott III with 418 yards, the leading receiver was Tyler Snead with 1,129 yards, and the leading tackler was Darnell Sankey with 103 tackles. Montreal finished sixth in attendance with average crowds of 21,132, which was a 0.8 percent decrease from the previous year.
