First-year Argo Doege to start important home contest versus Montreal Alouettes

By Canadian Press on September 17, 2025.

TORONTO — Jarret Doege will be the Toronto Argonauts’ starting quarterback when they host the Montreal Alouettes on Friday night.

Argos head coach Ryan Dinwiddie officially named Doege as his starter following the club’s practice Wednesday. The move wasn’t overly surprising as Dinwiddie said Tuesday he was leaning toward having Doege face Montreal at BMO Field.

With neither Nick Arbuckle (calf) nor Chad Kelly (leg) practising Wednesday, the six-foot-one, 210-pound Doege took the starter’s reps in practice. Toronto returned to the field Tuesday with a walkthrough, with Doege taking the bulk of starting reps then also.

“I thought he looked comfortable out there, he needed the reps because he hasn’t had a ton,” Dinwiddie said. “(Tuesday) was more of a walkthrough for us but (Wednesday) we went live and we had about 20 plays.

“I’m sure there are plays he wanted back but that’s just like any quarterback who’s new. We’ve got to make sure we give him an opportunity to be successful.”

Rookie Tucker Horn will serve as Doege’s backup Friday night.

It’s an important game for both teams as Montreal (6-7) stands second in the East, just ahead of third-place Toronto (5-8). The Alouettes already own the season series after winning the first two meetings (28-10 on June 6, 26-25 on July 17).

So in the event of a tie, Montreal would finish ahead of Toronto in the standings.

Doege came off the bench to rally Toronto past the Edmonton Elks 31-30 on Saturday afternoon. Replacing the injured Arbuckle, Doege engineered an eight-play, 40-yard drive that Lirim Hajrullahu capped with a game-winning 48-yard field goal to end the contest.

Doege completed three-of-six passes on the march for 35 yards. It was his first regular-season action with Toronto after starting his CFL career with the Edmonton Elks (2023-24).

Arbuckle started all 13 regular-season contests so far for Toronto and is the CFL passing leader with 4,089 yards. He’s also second overall in TD strikes (25) but is expected to miss two-to-three weeks.

Kelly remains on the six-game injured list and therefore can’t practise with Toronto. He continues to recover from the fractured tibia and fibula he suffered in last year’s 30-28 East Division final win against Montreal.

Dinwiddie has been consistent in stating Kelly, the CFL’s 2023 outstanding player, would play once it was clear he could protect himself on the field. That’s been interpreted as Kelly having the mobility to either move outside the pocket or effectively run upfield.

Dinwiddie said Tuesday that Kelly isn’t there yet.

Doege, 27, appeared in 20 regular-season games with Edmonton. He completed 43-of-68 passes for 593 yards with four TDs and four interceptions.

Doege signed with the Argos on May 27. He had one practice before helping them earn a 30-23 exhibition win over Hamilton three days later.

Friday’s contest will mark Doege’s first CFL start with Toronto and second overall. He started for Edmonton as a rookie on June 30, 2023 in a 26-7 road loss to the Ottawa Redblacks, completing 19-of-33 passes for 223 yards with a TD and three interceptions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2025.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press