Montreal Alouettes general manager Danny Maciocia appears confident that star defensive back Marc-Antoine Dequoy will sign a contract extension with the team for 2026, though he’s not making any assurances just yet.
“I hope so, I’m banking on it. I would bet on it, but I can’t guarantee that that’ll be the case again,” he said from the CFL’s offseason winter meetings in Calgary on Monday.
“Nobody knows Marc-Antoine better than I do. I recruited the kid out of (Collège) Montmorency, so I know him really well. I’ve had multiple conversations with him. I’ve sat down with this agent and we’ve had several discussions also. I think there’s a strong desire from his end to play in Montreal and even end his career in Montreal. As far as I’m concerned, I’m hoping that that’ll be the case.”
The six-foot-one, 195-pound defender made 38 total tackles, three sacks, one interception, and one touchdown in 2025, though he wasn’t the top safety in the East Division. Stavros Katsantonis set new career-highs with 72 total tackles and six interceptions to earn an All-CFL selection and a new $200,000 contract with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The Alouettes may not be able to match that type of offer for Dequoy, who is coming off a bit of a down year. The 31-year-old was named All-CFL in 2023 and 2024 when he combined to record 94 total tackles, seven interceptions, four forced fumbles, and two touchdowns over 33 regular-season games.
The native of Île Bizard, Que. was the CFL’s third-highest-paid defensive back in 2025 on a contract worth $155,000 in hard money. Montreal has strong depth behind him in Arthur Hamlin, who made three starts at safety and one start at strong-side linebacker this past season, and Nate Beauchemin, who was a second-round pick in the 2025 CFL Draft out of the University of Calgary where he was named a first-team All-Canadian and the top defensive player in all of U Sports in 2024.
Despite the team’s other options, it’s clear Maciocia wants Dequoy to remain on the roster for the foreseeable future in Montreal. The defensive back told 3DownNation at the Grey Cup in Winnipeg in November that he’s not considering retirement and intends to play for as long as he can.
“I can see (Dequoy) in the future being an ambassador for our organization and I want that attachment and that link to exist for the longest of time. Now, just because it hasn’t come to fruition just yet as far as consummating a contract, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t happen,” said Maciocia.
“We still have a lot of time. It’s just the way we operate the last few years, I like to do all my heavy lifting before the holidays. Unfortunately, this one, we haven’t been able to bang out an agreement, but I don’t know — who’s to say it can’t happen by the end of the day? But there is a strong appetite and a desire from both ends to get it done.”
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, leading receiver was Tyler Snead with 1,129 yards, and 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.
