The Calgary Stampeders have pulled starting quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell for the second half of their Week 11 matchup with the Toronto Argonauts, replacing him with backup Jake Maier to open the third quarter.
The Stampeders trailed 16-10 through two quarters at BMO Field, as Mitchell struggled to get the offence going. He finished his time under centre 9-of-16 passing for 149 yards and two interceptions — with 80 of those yards coming on his first throw of the game.
The 32-year-old Mitchell is Calgary’s all-time leader in passing yardage. He has started nine games this season, completing 157-of-257 passes for 1,988 yards, nine touchdowns and six interceptions prior to Saturday’s contest.
Maier played 11 games for Calgary in 2021 and made three starts (2-1) while Mitchell was recovering from a broken leg. During his rookie season, the six-foot, 212-pound pivot completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 1,211 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions. He also carried the ball 16 times for 31 yards and two touchdowns and made one catch for six yards.
In Maier’s CFL debut in Week 3, he earned the victory as the starting QB against the Montreal Alouettes. And his second start saw him set a franchise record by completing 17 consecutive passes. He helped the Stamps rally from a 12-point deficit in Week 16 against Winnipeg with five minutes remaining to earn the win.
The backup saw action late in Calgary’s 2022 season-opener, going 4-of-5 for 57 yards in the final three minutes to set up a game-winning field goal following a Mitchell injury.
