MONTREAL - Davis Alexander shuffled up to a wall of cameras and microphones with his head down and hands tucked in his pockets, his voice still heavy from the Grey Cup loss.
Less than 48 hours after falling 25-17 to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL鈥檚 championship game, the Montreal Alouettes quarterback wasn鈥檛 ready to turn the page.
Alexander hadn鈥檛 rewatched the game film, nor had he answered the messages of support sent his way as he processed the way his historic season ended.
鈥淢y heart hurts for our guys, it's definitely going to eat us up for a little bit, eat me up for a little bit,鈥 he said Tuesday at Olympic Stadium. 鈥淚'll definitely vow to come back stronger, vow to come back better, but I'm definitely going to let this one marinate and let it soak in for a little bit before I just move on."
Alexander set a CFL record with 11 straight regular-season wins as a starter 鈥 including a 7-0 record this year 鈥 followed by two playoff victories to reach the Grey Cup in Winnipeg. But he reinjured his hamstring in the Eastern final.
With only a week to recover, the 27-year-old from Gig Harbor, Wash., threw three interceptions and no touchdown passes against the Roughriders, taking much of the blame despite playing at far from full health.
"Deep down, yeah, I think I am proud of myself, but I'm also sick to my stomach,鈥 Alexander said as the Alouettes cleaned out their lockers. 鈥淵ou play the worst game of your career in the biggest moment of your career, and yeah, it'll eat you up for a little bit."
Alexander underthrew on one interception, and his mobility 鈥 crucial to his shifty, explosive playstyle 鈥 was clearly hampered.
Even after his turnovers and a pivotal goal-line fumble by short-yardage QB Shea Patterson, the Alouettes came within one score of tying as Alexander fought hard in the second half. On the final drive, he tweaked his hamstring again, jumping in pain after a rush to the sideline, but returned to the field without hesitation.
"I say less than one per cent probably would have played with that injury,鈥 Alouettes receiver Tyler Snead said. 鈥淭o go out there and still perform the way he did and put it all out there on the line for us, that's just the type of guy he is, type of competitor he is.鈥
鈥淭he normal human being wouldn't be able to play with that,鈥 added wideout Tyson Philpot. 鈥淚 would never have been able to step on that field with that kind of injury.鈥
The hamstring issue began as a minor knock in training camp and plagued Alexander the entire season. He revealed that when he re-aggravated it on July 17 against Toronto, it was a 鈥済rade 3C tear.鈥
鈥淏asically as bad as it gets besides it being torn off the bone,鈥 he said. 鈥淎s soon as you tear it off the bone, I think it's a nine-month recovery. But yeah, that type of injury (a grade 3C tear) takes four months to recover.
鈥淲e knew it wasn't going to be 100 per cent for the rest of the year.鈥
He says the key to full recovery is 鈥渏ust time.鈥 That he鈥檒l have, with training camp for the 2026 season still six months away.
Although he and the Alouettes are still mapping out an off-season plan, Alexander said his rehab will start with coming into Montreal鈥檚 facilities every day.
鈥淎nd then I know whenever I go back to Arizona for a couple of months, that's going to be the main focus, getting the hamstring right and making sure nothing ever happens again," he said.
Eager to make a strong impression in his first season as the starter, Alexander trained tirelessly 鈥 perhaps a little too much 鈥 to bulk up last off-season. In retrospect, Alexander understands the suggestion that he may have overdone it.
鈥淭hat's been talked about a little bit, maybe I trained too hard,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 didn't really believe that that was a thing, I guess until now. So it'll be something that I'll definitely monitor.
鈥淧art of me thinks it's just a freak injury that happened, (but) maybe it was from overwork and all that, and then I just never kind of let it recover.鈥
PHILPOT'S FUTURE
Tyson Philpot鈥檚 contract is up, and although he loves playing in Montreal, he says his future is uncertain.
"It's definitely uncharted territories,鈥 he said. 鈥淣ever really been in this situation before 鈥 I would love to be here. I would love to get something done. Obviously, I can't spin a crystal ball, I can't tell you exactly what's going to play out.鈥
Philpot, who caught the Grey Cup-winning touchdown for Montreal in 2023, totalled 804 receiving yards on 61 receptions with five touchdowns in 12 games this season.
The 25-year-old from Delta, B.C., didn鈥檛 hide that playing with brother Jalen, a Calgary Stampeders receiver with one year remaining on his contract, is on his mind.
鈥淚'm definitely getting to this point in my career where I'm kind of itching,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 would love to play with my brother. I would love to get him on the big stage.
鈥淚t's definitely something that's becoming more tangible where we could play together with his contract being up next year.鈥
This report by 好色tvwas first published Nov. 18, 2025.
