Montreal Alouettes’ general manager Danny Maciocia has been a busy man this offseason, but he won’t say whether re-signing one of the franchise’s most popular players is on his to-do list.
Speaking to the French-language media last week, the 58-year-old was non-committal regarding the future of safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy, and whether the team has enough salary cap space left to extend him.
“Listen, there is enough money left for at most a few players. There will certainly be choices to make,” Maciocia said. “You talk to me about Marc-Antoine, other people talk to me about (Darnell) Sankey, and others talk about (Geoffrey) Cantin-Arku.”
Later that week, the Alouettes signed Cantin-Arku to a two-year contract extension and released Sankey, who was a pending free agent, as a courtesy once it was clear that he would not be needed back. That decision at the linebacker position foreshadows a similar thought process to what the team could undertake with Dequoy.
Second-year man Arthur Hamlin, who was selected in the same CFL Draft as Cantin-Arku, has filled in admirably at safety when required, while Montreal also drafted Presidents’ Trophy winner Nate Beauchemin in the second round last year to improve their depth. That creates a ready-made succession plan if the team wants to move on from the high-priced 31-year-old Dequoy when his contract expires on February 10.
“There are 26 pending free agents. The full 26 will not be back. There will be a few that we put under contract for future years, and there will be others that will probably play elsewhere, and there will be others who will decide to move on to other things,” Maciocia acknowledged. “Those are all things that we are in the process of determining internally with our coaching staff, because they will have a direct say in the core and the identity of the Alouettes in 2026. Marc-Antoine will be a part of those discussions.”
Dequoy is the Alouettes’ most prominent francophone player and is widely considered the leader of their defence, but that comes at a price. The native of Ile Bizard, Que., was the third-highest paid defensive back in the CFL last season, earning $155,00 in hard money.
However, despite back-to-back All-CFL selections in 2023 and 2024, Dequoy has seen his production tail off. He was limited to 15 games in 2025 due to injury, producing 34 defensive tackles, four special teams tackles, three sacks, and a pick-six. A recognizable face in the province of Quebec, he has also put his attention into other endeavours and participated in several reality TV shows during the past few offseasons.
Letting the former Carabins standout walk would be unpopular with fans, but Maciocia warns that change is inevitable in this line of work.
“I will continue to say it is nearly impossible to keep the same team from ’25 in ’26. You don’t see that in professional sport, whether it’s hockey or football, whatever team sport,” he said. “There are choices that we need to make. I think we have already made a few choices; we will continue to make others. It will be different, but the core we have identified as a team will return.”
Maciocia worked quickly to re-sign or extend other big-name stars after the Alouettes’ Grey Cup loss, including quarterback Davis Alexander, receiver Tyson Philpot, and offensive lineman Pier-Olivier Lestage. He indicated that negotiations are continuing with other members of their perceived core, but dodged the question when asked about Dequoy’s status.
The veteran GM wouldn’t commit to bringing back the popular defender, but he wouldn’t rule out any possibilities either.
“Everyone has a chance (to be signed),” Maciocia joked with a reporter. “Even you have a chance.”
