The Montreal Alouettes were the CFL’s quietest team in free agency, signing only one of 3DownNation’s top 50 available players. This wasn’t a surprise given the philosophy of general manager Danny Maciocia, who prefers to develop talent in-house and keep the roster relatively consistent from year-to-year.
The Alouettes have done exactly that this offseason, maintaining most of their Grey Cup roster. Let’s take a look at Montreal’s updated depth chart. The information below isn’t official and is based on informed speculation.
The Alouettes have kept virtually their entire offence intact from 2025, save for receivers Austin Mack and Charleston Rambo. Mack was released ahead of an offseason roster bonus and subsequently signed with the Edmonton Elks, while Rambo remains a free agent.
Alexander Hollins seems like the favourite to replace Mack at boundary wideout. The 29-year-old only caught eight passes for 163 yards last season but was named All-West Division with the B.C. Lions in 2023 before battling knee problems. Assuming he’s healthy, Hollins could be the perfect budget-friendly veteran to replace Rambo.
Jerreth Sterns, who was signed from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, is the most likely candidate to replace Mack. The former Western Kentucky standout has been quietly consistent over three CFL seasons with Saskatchewan and Winnipeg, making 131 catches for 1,471 yards and seven touchdowns over 37 regular-season games.
Davis Alexander is back under centre and signed a contract extension tying him to Montreal through 2028. Dustin Crum appears primed to be his new backup, replacing McLeod Bethel-Thompson, with E.J. Perry, Anthony Brown Jr., and Dresser Winn rounding out the quarterback room.
The offensive line is identical to last year and Stevie Scott III and Travis Theis have returned to share duties at running back. Braydon Noll was a depth addition along the offensive line after stints with the Toronto Argonauts and Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Montreal released Darnell Sankey in December, citing an impending ratio change. Geoffrey Cantin-Arku, who has made 82 total tackles, nine sacks, three forced fumbles, and two interceptions over two seasons, appears primed to replace him at middle linebacker to give the Alouettes another Canadian starter on defence. Tyrice Beverette remains a stalwart at weak-side linebacker, while Najee Murray is consistent at strong-side linebacker.
The defensive line is essentially the same as last season, save for Dylan Wynn, who departed for the Ottawa Redblacks. Mustafa Johnson spent most of last year recovering from a serious knee injury and will be looking to return to his dominant form beside Kori Roberson Jr., who played seven regular-season games as a rookie in 2025. Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund and Lwal Uguak give the Alouettes talented Canadian bookends with Joshua Archibald filling a key depth role.
Montreal’s secondary is the same as last season with the exception of local star Marc-Antoine Dequoy, who elected to retire. Jonathan Sutherland has been pencilled-in as his replacement after spending parts of three seasons in the NFL. Arthur Hamlin, who started four games last season, is also a strong candidate to replace Dequoy, though second-round draft pick Nate Beauchemin could also play a significant role in Noel Thorpe’s defence.
Between their defensive end, linebackers, and defensive backs, the Alouettes might have the most Canadian talent on any CFL defence.
Montreal has maintained most of their special teams unit, which ranked first in opponent net punting but struggled to generate big returns. The two additions were return specialists DeVonte Dedmon and Phillip Brooks, who will look to replace James Letcher Jr. following his departure to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
If you’re a diehard Alouettes fan, you might not even need a program come the preseason. The vast majority of this team is the same as 2025, which shouldn’t be considered a bad thing as this team came awfully close to winning the Grey Cup.
