CFL Notebook
McLeod Bethel-Thompson will continue his CFL career with the Montreal Alouettes.
The veteran quarterback signed a one-year contract extension with Montreal on Monday. He was slated to become a free agent Feb. 11.
Montreal acquired Bethel-Thompson’s rights from the Edmonton Elks last month for ’23 Grey Cup MVP Cody Fajardo. Bethel-Thompson’s signing wasn’t surprising as head coach Jason Maas said during a CFL zoom call earlier Monday he expected Bethel-Thompson to join the Als sooner rather than later.
“He’s still very capable of winning games for you,” Maas said of Bethel-Thompson. “In the meantime, we’ve got a guy that can help mentor Davis (starter Davis Alexander) and be there for support when that’s needed, and then be able to step in when that’s needed as well.
“I love our quarterback room. I love all four of the guys we’re bringing in and have. I know that position, which always needs to be a strength of your football team, I know that’s what it is for us.”
Mark Kilam is having no trouble getting used to his new duds.
Edmonton hired Kilam last month as its head coach. He joined the Elks shortly after being let go as Calgary’s special-teams co-ordinator/assistant head coach following 20 seasons with the Stampeders.
But after two decades of donning red and white, the transition back to green and gold has been seamless for Kilam, who grew up in Lethbridge, Alta., and played linebacker with the Alberta Golden Bears.
“The first football team I ever played on was green and gold (Lethbridge Collegiate Institute),” Kilam said during a CFL zoom call Monday. “I played for the Bears, we were green and gold.
“I remember it felt strange when I first put on red and white. Getting back into this felt natural for me, it wasn’t like I was in a foreign place.”
Kilam was emphatic he’s concentrating firmly on the future and not on having been let go by Calgary. But Kilam got a little animated when asked what made him the right person to lead Edmonton forward but not help the Stampeders (5-12-1 last year) reverse their fortunes.
“Well, you have to ask the people who made the decision in Calgary, that’s out of my control,” he said. “But what I can tell you is I’m going to (expletive) bring it in Edmonton … you can print that as well.
The Ottawa Redblacks have signed offensive lineman Dariusz Bladek to a one-year contract extension, the CFL team announced Monday.
Bladek started 17 games with the Redblacks last season after missing the entire 2023 campaign with the Toronto Argonauts due to an ankle injury.
He attended mini-camp with the Baltimore Ravens in 2016 before being drafted in the second round, 11th overall by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2017.
Bladek would go on to appear in 45 games with the Riders across three seasons before signing with the Argos in 2020, where he helped Toronto win the Grey Cup in 2022.
Bladek is from Clifton, N.J., but qualifies as a national player through his Canadian mother.
Defensive end Willie Jefferson is remaining with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The six-foot-seven, 248-pound Jefferson agreed to terms on a one-year contract extension Sunday with the CFL club. The veteran American was slated to become a free agent next month.
The 2025 season will be Jefferson’s 11th in the CFL and sixth with Winnipeg.
Jefferson was named a CFL all-star last season for the sixth time after registering a team-high six sacks – just two off the league lead – with 25 tackles, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. He also had 10 pass knockdowns.
(Canadian Press)
