The start of the 2024 CFL regular season is officially only one week away as the Montreal Alouettes will visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on June 6 at Princess Auto Stadium for a rematch of the 110th Grey Cup.
Oddsmakers have projected win totals for each of the league’s nine teams, allowing bettors to wager on the over or under. Some teams have seen drastic shifts in their lines from a year ago following surprise finishes to the 2023 season, while the Toronto Argonauts’ number has been strongly affected by the suspension to Chad Kelly, the CFL’s reigning Most Outstanding Player, which has made him ineligible to play the first half of the season.
Below is a breakdown of each team’s betting line accompanied by their notable off-season moves, including additions and losses of players and coaches.
B.C. Lions — over/under
Vancouver will host the Grey Cup for the first time since 2014 as their local team looks to snap a 12-year championship drought. B.C. is coming off back-to-back 12-win seasons, though the losses of Mathieu Betts (NFL), Keon Hatcher (injury) and T.J. Lee (injury) will be tough to overcome, especially early on in the year.
The club’s brass seems bullish on the additions of former Philadelphia Eagles receiver Travis Fulgham and Canadian defensive tackle Christian Covington, who signed with the team following a nine-year run in the NFL. Two-time CFL all-star William Stanback should also help boost a mediocre run game as Tyquan Mizzell, the team’s incumbent starter, has already been released.
The Lions will be put to the test early this season with three games against the four-time defending West Division champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers scheduled for the first eleven weeks, two of which will be played in hostile territory at Princess Auto Stadium. If B.C. hopes to host the West Final this year, they will almost surely have to win the season series against Winnipeg.
Calgary Stampeders — over/under
The Stampeders are coming off their worst regular season in almost 20 years as they managed only six wins in 2023, barely scraping into the playoffs as the third seed in the West Division. This is reflected in the betting line listed above, which is two wins lower than Calgary’s line from last season.
There might not be a player in the CFL under more pressure this season than Jake Maier, who is entering the final year of his contract. The 27-year-old was the only quarterback in the league to start all 18 regular season games in 2023, yet he finished the year with 19 touchdowns to 15 interceptions as part of an offence that ranked sixth in scoring.
Calgary’s receiving corps took a hit on Tuesday when receiver Malik Henry, who is coming off a ruptured Achilles, suffered a season-ending knee injury. The club will need its defence, led by Mike Rose, James Vaughters, Cameron Judge, and newly-acquired all-star cornerback Demerio Houston, to step up as the Stampeders look to force more turnovers than a year ago.
Edmonton Elks — over/under
The Elks are coming off back-to-back 4-14 seasons and have won only eleven regular season games since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet there are reasons for optimism in the Alberta capital, formerly known as the City of Champions.
McLeod Bethel-Thompson is the team’s new starting quarterback as Edmonton made him the league’s fourth-highest-paid player following a one-year excursion to the USFL. The 35-year-old isn’t the flashiest player in the league, but he’s one of few quarterbacks who can say they’ve led the CFL in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and won a Grey Cup as a starter. He also has a knack for staying healthy, which should provide some stability for a team that needs continuity.
Head coach and general manager Chris Jones is under plenty of pressure this season and relinquished the role of defensive coordinator to Jason Shivers, who was hired following an eight-year run in Regina. Bettors might have a hard time believing in the Elks, though the team only has to win seven games to reach the over.
Saskatchewan Roughriders — over/under
The Green and White are coming off back-to-back 6-12 seasons, which resulted in a coaching change as Corey Mace was hired away from the Toronto Argonauts where he served as the team’s defensive coordinator. He and the rest of the club’s brass wasted no time making sweeping changes to the roster as Saskatchewan was one of the most active teams in CFL free agency.
A.J. Ouellette was signed to boost the club’s running game following his first 1,000-yard rushing season, while Jermarcus Hardrick was added from Winnipeg to provide improved pass protection. On the defensive side of the ball, Malik Carney and Jameer Thurman were signed away from the Tiger-Cats and appear locked in as day-one starters.
Trevor Harris is back under centre after suffering a tibial plateau fracture that cost him 13 games in 2023, which he feared could be career-ending. It remains to be seen who the team’s backup quarterback will be this season, though Mace and his staff won’t have to worry about their depth so long as Harris stays upright and healthy.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers — over/under
The Blue Bombers have the highest over/under win total in the CFL, which is well-deserved following a fourth straight season atop the West Division standings. The team’s line was 12.5 games last year and the club finished 14-4, beating the line by 1.5 wins.
Winnipeg has been virtually unbeatable at home since 2019, posting a 31-3 record in the friendly confines of Princess Auto Stadium. B.C., the only visiting team to win a game in Bomberland last season, will make two trips to the city in 2024, which will make it tough for the Blue Bombers to go a perfect 9-0 at home.
Though the club kept most of its veteran core intact, Winnipeg experienced more turnover this off-season than they have in many years. Jermarcus Hardrick was a massive loss along the offensive line, while Jackson Jeffcoat retired and Dru Brown left for a starting job in Ottawa. This team still looks like one of the best in the league, though bettors will have to decide whether or not they can reach such a high win total.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats — over/under
Change was afoot in Steeltown this past off-season as Scott Milanovich became the team’s head coach in place of Orlondo Steinauer, who retained the role of president of football operations. Ed Hervey was promoted to the role of general manager and quickly reshaped the roster, adding the talented defensive trio of Brandon Barlow, Dewayne Hendrix, and Jamal Peters from the rival Toronto Argonauts.
Perhaps the most surprising move this off-season was the one Hamilton didn’t make as Bo Levi Mitchell has returned as the team’s starting quarterback. Though he took a massive pay cut to come back, Mitchell openly doubted his future with the Tiger-Cats after barely seeing the field during the club’s East Semi-Final loss to the Montreal Alouettes. He needs to be better in 2024 and Milanovich and Hervey seem squarely in his corner.
Hamilton only needs to go 9-9 to reach the over on their projected win total, though it remains to be seen who will step up to fill the leadership void left by the retirements of Chris Van Zeyl, Simoni Lawrence, and Ted Laurent. At a time of change, the club’s fans will be looking to see which veterans grab the reigns upon a new era.
Toronto Argonauts — over/under
The oddsmakers don’t appear to have much faith in Cameron Dukes given that the Argonauts went 16-2 with Chad Kelly at the helm in 2023. Kelly, who will miss at least nine games this season due to a suspension, won Most Outstanding Player in his first full year as a CFL starter, though he will be ineligible to play the first half of the 2024 season.
Dukes completed 65.6 percent of his pass attempts for 760 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions as a rookie last year, going 1-1 as a starter. The six-foot-one, 205-pound passer signed with the team to little fanfare last season following stints at Lindsey Wilson College and the Indoor Football League. Toronto has also brought back veteran quarterback Nick Arbuckle as an apparent insurance policy behind Dukes.
The Argonauts lost a ton of talent this off-season, including A.J. Ouellette, Dariusz Bladek, Brandon Barlow, Dewayne Hendrix, Adarius Pickett, Jamal Peters, Qwan’tez Stiggers, Boris Bede, and Javon Leake. CFL veterans Ka’Deem Carey, Thiadric Hansen, Fraser Sopik, Tunde Adeleke, and Lirim Hajrullahu were added in free agency to help offset the losses, while several other pending free agents were signed to long-term extensions.
Ottawa Redblacks — over/under
Dru Brown is the new face of the Ottawa Redblacks as he’s been anointed the team’s starter following a three-year run as a backup with the Blue Bombers. The 27-year-old native of Palo Alto, Calif. has thrown for 1,484 yards, 14 touchdowns, and two interceptions over 38 career games but has only three starts to his name.
The Redblacks signed Dominique Rhymes following his release from B.C., bringing the former CFL all-star back to where he originally started his career. The team also invested the second overall pick in the 2024 CFL Draft on Nick Mardner, a six-foot-six, 206-pound receiver who was unstoppable at the University of Hawai’i in 2021.
Ottawa signed strong-side linebacker Adarius Pickett in free agency after he was the East Division’s nominee for Most Outstanding Defensive Player with Toronto last year. The versatile defender should help the club improve a unit that allowed 507 points last season, which ranked worst in the East Division.
Montreal Alouettes — over/under
What a difference a year makes. The Alouettes entered the 2023 season with an over/under of only 7.5 wins and ended up catching fire to finish 11-7 and upset the Toronto Argonauts and Winnipeg Blue Bombers en route to a Grey Cup victory.
Montreal has managed to keep almost its entire championship roster intact, minus only William Stanback (B.C.), Austin Mack and Lwal Uguak (NFL), and Almondo Sewell (unsigned). It briefly appeared as though Shawn Lemon wouldn’t return after receiving an indefinite suspension for gambling but is currently eligible to play after filing an appeal.
The Alouettes made their Grey Cup run on the strength of their defence and special teams and will try to do so again as Cody Fajardo leads a relatively conservative offensive attack. Tevin Jones, who was signed away from Saskatchewan where he played alongside Fajardo in 2022, will look to fill the No. 1 receiver role vacated by Mack.
