Canadian QB Arnaud Desjardins will get ‘legit shot’ to earn third-string spot with Montreal Alouettes

Photo courtesy: Montreal Alouettes.

When general manager Danny Maciocia called Canadian quarterback Arnaud Desjardins offering him a contract with the Alouettes, he had just started an internship with Davies, a Montreal law firm.

“I was leaving the office on Friday when I received a call,” Desjardins said. “I can’t thank Davies enough for allowing me to be here and live my dream.”

The six-foot-four, 215-pound passer went unselected in the 2025 CFL Draft and returned to school at Université Laval. He completed 75.6 percent of his passes for 1,873 yards, 14 touchdowns, and four interceptions over eight regular-season games to earn a second-team U Sports All-Canadian selection in his final season with the Rouge et Or.

The two-time Vanier Cup champion had turned the page on football, taking a months-long break from the sport while remaining active in the gym. Most recently, he participated in a selection camp from April 30 to May 3 with the Canadian men’s national flag football team as a quarterback and receiver.

“It’s one day at a time,” Desjardins said. “I’m trying to focus on learning the playbook and getting better with every repetition.”

The Montreal native was not initially considered by the Alouettes leading into training camp. However, the situation has changed.

After releasing two quarterbacks who were brought in last week, E.J. Perry and Dresser Winn, the team needed additional competition and arms behind Davis Alexander and Dustin Crum.

“We didn’t have a spot for [Desjardins] at the beginning of training camp,” general manager Danny Maciocia said. “We got down to three, then our third-string quarterback, Anthony Brown, got injured. I wanted to have four arms available for the rest of training camp.”

Maas didn’t mince words about the two quarterbacks who were cut. It wasn’t a large sample size, but it was enough to determine Perry and Winn didn’t have what the team needed.

“You’re looking for a certain thing in a quarterback. Although it was only three days, we didn’t see it in those two guys, but we saw it in Anthony. We decided to keep only three and now Anthony is not quite right,” Maas said.

Brown will be reevaluated on Tuesday to determine the extent of his injury. The 58-year-old GM did not hesitate when asked if Desjardins will have a legitimate shot to earn the third-string role with his franchise.

“Every time you step on the field with us, you have a chance to compete for a spot. We are very happy with our first and second quarterbacks,” Maciocia said referring to Alexander and Crum. “We have to finalize the third spot and decide whether we keep a fourth.”

Desjardins will compete for the third quarterback spot behind Alexander and Crum. Although he did not run many quarterback sneaks in university, he is more than willing to try if it helps him earn a fair shot.

“I always liked that kid [Desjardins] out of college. It ended up being Jonathan (Sénécal from the Université de Montréal) — we drafted him and gave him an opportunity. James [Morgan] took the job and the rest is history,” Maas said.

“I was surprised no one gave [Desjardins] an opportunity. He deserves one, but what happens with it remains to be seen. He is going to get an opportunity in games, as long as he picks up everything we’ve discussed. That’s the plan — to give him a legit shot.”

There’s a possibility Desjardins earns a practice roster spot. However, outside football, he is in the final steps towards becoming a lawyer. With that in mind, and the salary that comes with it, he did not want to comment on that possibility.

“I’ll handle those questions when and if we get there,” the former Laval star said.