Fajardo, Maas compete for Grey Cup after being let go by Riders

Cody Fajardo and Jason Maas both found themselves out of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ plans after the 2022 season.

Now, both the quarterback and head coach are days away from playing for a Grey Cup as members of the Montreal Alouettes.

“I don’t hold grudges and it was unfortunate how things worked out. When you pour your heart and soul out for an organization, it is always going to be difficult when you’re told you’re not good enough or you’re not going to be the guy,” Fajardo said ahead of the championship showdown against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The CFL’s championship game is set for Sunday at Tim Hortons Field with kickoff at 5 p.m.

“Everything happens for a reason and, all glory to God, I am sitting here today and going to play in my first Grey Cup as a starting quarterback,” Fajardo added.

Fajardo took over the reins as the Riders’ starter back in 2019 after an injury to Zach Collaros – who is now the Bombers’ starting pivot and appearing in his fourth straight Grey Cup.

Fajardo appeared in back-to-back CFL West Finals in 2019 and 2021 (the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and was the starter for most of the 2022 season before the team benched him for Mason Fine in the final two weeks of the season.

“When I would have those meetings with Coach Dickie, I would need somewhere to vent and I would walk into coach Maas’ office and I would ask him straight up, ‘Is this your decision? How do you feel about it?'” Fajardo said.

Just over a year ago, Jason Maas was fired by the Riders. Now he is head coach of the Montreal Alouettes and competing for the Grey Cup. (Thomas Skrlj/CFL)

“Maas was the one who worked with me every day and I felt like I was finally getting healthy. It was just one of those things where I’m glad coach Maas told me how things were going, because when he did sign with Montreal, I didn’t put him in the same category, it just helped our relationship grow to another height knowing that he stuck with me through arguably the toughest part of my career.”

Maas, who is in his second stint as a CFL head coach, admitted he didn’t agree with the decision.

“The general manager, the head coach, the organization itself can want to go another direction. When they ask you your opinion and you are the coordinator and you are the one calling the plays and you have a different belief than them,” Maas said.

“I simply just said, ‘I would agree to disagree on who should be the quarterback. I believe in Cody and I believe he gives us the best opportunity but I’m going to coach whoever you want me to coach and my job is to get whoever prepared.”

Saskatchewan lost those two games to complete a seven-game losing streak and finish 6-12, missing the playoffs for the first time with Fajardo as the starter.

Despite throwing for 10,632 yards, 48 touchdowns with 32 interceptions while adding 1,436 yards and 22 touchdowns on the ground in three seasons, the team elected to not re-sign the quarterback.

That uncertainty and how the season ended had Fajardo asking tough questions about his future in the CFL.

“Going into the offseason, I contemplated hanging them up,” Fajardo said. “I had a conversation with my wife Laura and we felt like having our first child and being where we were at in our careers, I didn’t know if there was going to be teams that called for me. I thought about saving myself some face and just hanging them up.”

Maas also had to find out where his next steps would be after the then-offensive coordinator was fired by the Riders.

But Als general manager Danny Maciocia decided the two would lead the team in 2023 and beyond.

Maciocia was the offensive coordinator in Edmonton from 2002-04 and then head coach from 2005-08. Maas was the quarterback in Edmonton from 2000-05.

“It’s the way he handled the whole (2022) year. I was always talking to him because we have unique relationship that dates back 20-some years so I would always touch in with him because that has to be one of the loneliest feelings that you can possibly experience,” Maciocia said. “

When things aren’t going well and no one is talking to you and your name is circulating in a negative way, chances are at the conclusion of this season we are going to make changes and possibly you are going to be one of the changes.

Without last year, I may still hire him but I don’t know if I am fully convinced to hire him because for him to deal with that, that told me he was battle-tested.”

Maciocia also felt Fajardo would be the right quarterback to bring in with Trevor Harris departing for Saskatchewan.

“I watched three years of him playing quarterback and I analyzed every single one of his throws in Saskatchewan,” Maciocia said. “What I needed to hear from Jason was what kind person was he – is he tough mentally and tough physically.

“He gave me privileged information that he had in Saskatchewan that was not being reported the way it should have been reported, in my opinion. Once I got that information with what I saw on film, I said we are going to go with this guy and make him feel like he’s found himself a home.”

That’s exactly how Fajardo felt during contract negotiations with the Alouettes being the only team to offer him a multi-year deal, which he would sign.

“It showed an investment to me and a belief in me and I wanted to play for a team and a program and a head coach who believed in me,” Fajardo said.

After defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the CFL East semifinal, followed by beating the 16-2 Toronto Argonauts in the divisional finals, Fajardo and the Als are one win away from that investment paying off with the CFL’s ultimate prize.