A quick word of warning before we get to the quarterback rankings: change happens, injuries occur and coaches overhaul game plans.
There are a couple of teams with lingering uncertainty about who will start in Week 10.
These rankings reflect the quarterbacks that are most likely to lead their respective teams this week.
On to the rankings!
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*Nathan Rourke and Tre Ford are included here assuming they are starting in Week 10. The Tiger-Cats and Lions have not announced their starter for Week 10 as of this writing.
1. (1) DAVIS ALEXANDER | MONTREAL ALOUETTES
Here is how good a season Davis Alexander is having for Montreal: it was actual news when he finally threw his first interception of the season two weeks ago against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. It wasn’t even a bad throw; the turnover was more about Devodric Bynum beating out Kaseem Ferdinand for a jump ball.
Alexander “rebounded” from his lowest output of the season with a 420-yard, three-touchdown day against the Ottawa REDBLACKS. A small moment from that game came in the first quarter and perfectly illustrated his arm strength. On Montreal’s first drive, while being hounded by several Ottawa defenders, Alexander managed a tight throw to Tyler Snead 20 yards downfield, despite not being able to properly plant his right foot before throwing. The Montreal quarterback had many more spectacular plays, but that simple completion told a big story.
2. (2) TREVOR HARRIS | SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
Quick shoutout to the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Edmonton Elks for giving us back-to-back weeks of theatre. Trevor Harris was rightfully overshadowed by Cody Fajardo and his 500-plus-yard day in the Elks’ 36-34 Week 8 victory, but Harris was excellent himself too.
In the first quarter, standing in his own end zone, Harris delivered a brilliant deep shot to Kian Schaffer-Baker for 37 yards right at the sideline. Later, he hit Schaffer-Baker in stride for a 56-yard score. His one interception, compared to four touchdowns, was not his fault, as the ball was tipped. The only nitpick was his miss of Johnny Johnson III in the end zone with Saskatchewan down 33-31 and under two minutes remaining. Last week, Harris was more clinical than spectacular, but he connected with Johnson III on two critical plays in the fourth quarter for 42 combined yards, leading to the game-winning touchdown to KeeSean Johnson.
3. (5) CODY FAJARDO | EDMONTON ELKS
The biggest riser is Cody Fajardo, and deservedly so.
I wrote about it last week: I love when we get to see the “Mad Bomber” version of Fajardo. I don’t know if we will see a better stat line than his 510 yards, four touchdowns and only seven incompletions in Edmonton’s Week 8 win over the Riders. Fajardo set the tone with a 68-yard hookup to Kaion Julien-Grant in the second quarter after Kaion had gotten behind Demarcus Fields.
He just kept attacking downfield, culminating in that fourth-quarter, third-and-10, high-pressure completion to T.J. Luther for 23 yards with Edmonton down 34-33. That throw would set up the game-winning field goal. Cody did enough last week to get the win, but this time it was Harris who would get the last laugh. I imagine I am not alone in wanting these teams to meet in the playoffs.
4. (6) VERNON ADAMS JR. | CALGARY STAMPEDERS
The Calgary Stampeders have been on a heater the past two weeks, from Tyreik McAllister’s three touchdowns in a blowout win over Winnipeg to their defence scoring two touchdowns against Hamilton.
The team has scored 96 total points; they’re getting contributions from all over the roster, and Vernon Adams Jr. has been in the middle of it all. His best pass in the Stamps’ 52-30 win over the Bombers was his seven-yard corner touchdown to Tevin Jones, despite good coverage from Major Williams. I loved his courage last week as he took a hit from Hamilton’s Reggie Stubblefield while delivering a blitz-busting 43-yard touchdown to Dejon Brissett.
5. (-) NATHAN ROURKE | BC LIONS
Reports from BC indicate that the reigning George Reed Most Outstanding Player will be back starting for the Lions after being knocked out on the second play from scrimmage back in Week 7 against the Elks.
The last time Nathan Rourke was on this list, he was ranked third, but it would be difficult to put him above Adams Jr. or Fajardo right now. By Rourke’s own standards, it’s fair to say the start of 2026 has been underwhelming, though part of that is the result of a rash of injuries at the receiver position. Quick tip of the cap to Kaidon Salter, who ran for 160 yards in the team’s 35-19 victory last week.
6. (4) CHAD KELLY | TORONTO ARGONAUTS
With a bye in Week 9 and an injury the week prior against the BC Lions, it’s fair to say Chad Kelly has had the least amount of work among the quarterbacks ranked here.
Kelly still made a mark in the Toronto Argonauts’ 26-12 takedown of the Lions. He threw an absolute laser to Makai Polk on the Argos’ first drive for a 19-yard score. Then, in the second quarter, it was yet another beautiful deep ball to Polk for a 44-yard touchdown, beating veteran T.J. Lee along the way. Quick hat tip to Nick Arbuckle for his revenge stiff-arm on Darnell Sankey in that contest.
7. (7) JAKE MAIER | OTTAWA REDBLACKS
This is the point of the ranking where everything starts to get dicey. In the REDBLACKS’ 34-13 loss, Jake Maier put up plenty of yards but not nearly enough points.
The team’s first drive summed it up best, I thought. Responding to an Alexander drive that ended with a six-yard touchdown to Cole Spieker, Ottawa took the ball and also got to the six-yard line. Instead of cashing in with a major, Jake’s second-down pass to Ayden Eberhardt fell incomplete, and the team was forced to kick a field goal. Later, with Ottawa down 24-13, another goal-line appearance ended with a Joshua Archibald interception.
8. (3) DRU BROWN | WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
The last two weeks have not been kind to Dru Brown and the Bombers. Brown was picked off four times by Calgary, including three times by Benjamin Labrosse. His lone touchdown in Week 8 was the result of a lot of hard work and athleticism from Nic Demski, who turned a screen pass into a 37-yard major. Against the Lions, Dru had several impressive throws, highlighted by a 37-yard completion to a well-covered Ontaria Wilson late in the third quarter. Hopefully, Brown will be ready to go after suffering a back injury in the fourth quarter.
9. (8) TRE FORD | HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
After plenty of promising moments from Tre Ford in Hamilton’s win over Toronto, he has taken a step back over the Tiger-Cats’ last two games, both losses. His interception to Robert Kennedy III with just under two minutes left ended any chance of a Tiger-Cats upset win over the Alouettes.
Flash forward to a week later, with his team down 7-3 and just under five minutes left, Ford lost a fumble after a 15-yard run. Yes, it was a heady play by Kyle Wilson, but that ball needed to be secured. I wonder if Scott Milanovich considers giving Harrison Frost a start this week when Hamilton heads to BC. Frost entered the game in Week 9 and completed nine of 20 passes for 165 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
