Photo courtesy: Jeff Vinnick/B.C. Lions
There may be no player with a better opportunity in Calgary Stampeders’ training camp than Josh Love.
The six-foot-two, 199-pound quarterback is the heavy favourite to win the backup job behind Vernon Adams Jr. following the retirement of P.J. Walker.
The other two challengers, Ben Woolridge and Jacolby Criswell, have no previous CFL experience with the latter recently signing with Calgary straight out of college.
“All the quarterbacks, I think, are competing hard, and some throws are better than others, some decisions are better than others, but (Love) looks very comfortable in the huddle, leadership is there,” head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson told the media on Monday.
“You just want to see progress, and he knows an opportunity is there with P.J. stepping away, so excited for that, and just understanding that every day is a new day, keep competing, and do what you can to get better.”
Love dressed for six regular-season games with the Stampeders in 2025, his first season in the CFL, and completed five-of-eight passes for 67 yards. Though he remains relatively new to the league, he has plenty of previous professional experience.
The 29-year-old finished his collegiate career at San Jose State off strong, winning the Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2019. He then had brief stints with the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers before embarking on a three-year UFL career with the Pittsburgh Maulers, Michigan Panthers, and Memphis Showboats.
In all, the native of Mission Viejo, Calif. has thrown for 2,727 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions at the professional level.
Woolridge was named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2024, completing 66.0 percent of his passes for 2,453 yards, 17 touchdowns, and six interceptions. The six-foot-two, 214-pound passer has since been a member of the New England Patriots and St. Louis Battlehawks, though he didn’t see regular-season action with either team.
Criswell played at East Tennessee State in 2025, where he completed 61.6 percent of his passes for 1,130 yards, nine touchdowns, and two interceptions, and rushed 56 times for 277 yards. The six-foot-one, 230-pound passer previously played at North Carolina and Arkansas, throwing for a combined 2,806 yards, 19 touchdowns, and seven interceptions over 30 games.
It remains to be seen if Love will win the backup job behind Adams Jr., but one thing is for sure: he’s got a great opportunity to do so over the next few weeks.
The Calgary Stampeders opened training camp on May 10. Calgary will play its first preseason game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Monday, May 18 and its second preseason game against the Edmonton Elks on Friday, May 29. Final roster cuts are due on Saturday, May 30, after which the team will play its first regular-season game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday, June 5.
Calgary recently selected Angelo State linebacker Eric Rascoe with their first-round pick in the 2026 CFL Draft, adding a key piece to pair with veteran Micah Teitz. The team’s other major offseason addition was receiver Dejon Brissett, who set a career-high with 907 receiving yards with the Toronto Argonauts in 2025.
In 2025, the Stampeders finished third in the West Division standings with an 11-7 record but lost the West Semi-Final to the B.C. Lions.
