Cody Fajardo faces former team and former backup in Grey Cup

Cody Fajardo won the Grey Cup with Montreal in 2023. On Sunday, he’ll try to win another one against the Alouettes and Davis Alexander, the quarterback who backed him up on that championship team.

Fajardo and the Edmonton Elks face Alexander and the Montreal Alouettes at 6 p.m. ET at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. It’s Edmonton’s first Grey Cup appearance since it won the title in 2015. Montreal is back for the third time in four seasons.

Fajardo was named the 2023 Grey Cup’s most valuable player. Montreal traded him to Edmonton after the 2024 season and turned to Alexander, who will make his second straight Grey Cup start. Alexander threw for 5,257 yards and 35 touchdowns with four interceptions in 16 starts this season, earning the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player award.

“If you look at the decision, it’s clear they made the right one,” Fajardo said Thursday, according to Sportsnet, in reference to Montreal choosing Alexander.

Alexander threw for 373 yards and two touchdowns in a 33-23 win over Winnipeg in the East final. He’ll face an Edmonton defense that led the CFL with 27 interceptions and allowed a league-low 24.3 points per game. Fajardo, 34, passed for a career-high 4,788 yards and 25 touchdowns in the regular season and led Edmonton past the B.C. Lions in the West final.

The teams split their two regular-season meetings. Edmonton won 32-29 in Week 3 before Montreal took the rematch 48-30 in Week 10. Alexander accounted for six touchdowns across the two games, and Fajardo had five.

It will be the 12th Grey Cup meeting between the clubs. Edmonton leads the series 8-3. Canadian viewers can watch on TSN, CTV, Crave and RDS. CFL+ carries the game in the United States. See The Sporting Page’s Grey Cup watch guide for broadcast details.