Montreal Alouettes release Mario Alford, two others

Montreal Alouettes

The Montreal Alouettes have released veteran return specialist Mario Alford, the team announced on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old played four regular-season games after joining Montreal as a free agent last month. He returned 20 punts for 226 yards and 14 kickoffs for 293 yards.

The five-foot-eight, 180-pound speedster attended training camp with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, though he was released when Isaiah Wooden Sr. returned from the NFL. He returned a missed field goal 112 yards for a touchdown in his lone preseason appearance with the Tabbies, but it was called back due to a penalty.

Alford has played 78 career regular-season CFL games as a member of the Toronto Argonauts, Alouettes, and Saskatchewan Roughriders, recording 286 punt returns for 3,278 yards, 197 kickoff returns for 4,771 yards, 15 missed field goal returns for 580 yards, and scoring 12 touchdowns.

The native of Greenville, Ga. was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player in 2022, All-West Division in 2023, and helped the Roughriders win the Grey Cup in 2025.

The Alouettes have also released Canadian receiver Hakeem Harris and American receiver Terique Owens.

Harris was a third-round pick in the 2025 CFL Draft out of Davenport University. The six-foot-three, 210-pound target dressed for 12 regular-season games as a rookie but didn’t register any receptions. He has yet to play a game in 2026, as he was placed on Montreal’s six-game injured list near the start of June.

Owens attended training camp with the team in Quebec City, though he was released upon its conclusion. He returned to Montreal last month and dressed for four regular-season games, though he did not register any statistics.

The six-foot-three, 200-pound target finished his collegiate career at Missouri State University, where he caught 28 passes for 528 yards and four touchdowns in 2023. The native of Pleasanton, Calif. is the son of former NFL star Terrell Owens.

The Montreal Alouettes (5-1) will host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-3) at Percival Molson Stadium on Sunday, July 26 with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The Tiger-Cats narrowly beat the Toronto Argonauts this past week, while the Alouettes completed their home-and-home sweep of the Calgary Stampeders.

The weather forecast in Montreal calls for a high of 26 degrees and a 20 percent chance of rain. The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CBS Sports Network internationally. Radio listeners can tune in on the Ticats Audio Network in Hamilton or TSN 690 (English) or 99.5 Montreal (French) in Montreal.