2021 Toronto Argonauts season

2021 Toronto Argonauts season
General manager	Michael Clemons
Head coach	Ryan Dinwiddie
Home field	BMO Field
Results
Record	9–5
Division place	1st, East
Playoff finish	Lost East Final
Team MOP	McLeod Bethel-Thompson
Team MOC	Kurleigh Gittens Jr.
Team MOR	Peter Nicastro
Uniform

The 2021 Toronto Argonauts season was the 63rd season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 148th year of existence. The Argonauts improved on their 4–14 record from their previous season in 2019 with a win in week 10 against the Ottawa Redblacks on October 6, 2021. The team qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2017, on October 30, 2021, with a win over the BC Lions.[1] The Argonauts then clinched first place in the East Division after defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on November 12, 2021.[2] However, the Argonauts lost to the same Tiger-Cats in the East Final after holding a 12–0 halftime lead, but were unable to score a touchdown and lost 27–19.[3]

This was the first full season with Michael Clemons as general manager following his appointment mid-way through the 2019 season.[4] This was also the first season for head coach Ryan Dinwiddie.[5]

An 18-game season schedule was originally released on November 20, 2020, but it was announced on April 21, 2021, that the start of the season would likely be delayed until August and feature a 14-game schedule.[6][7] On June 15, 2021, the league released the revised 14-game schedule with regular season play beginning on August 5, 2021.[8]

Offseason

CFL Global Draft

The 2021 CFL Global Draft took place on April 15, 2021.[9][10] With the format being a snake draft, the Argonauts selected third in the odd-numbered rounds and seventh in the even-numbered rounds.[9] The team exchanged their third-round pick for a fourth-round pick as part of a three-player trade with the Calgary Stampeders.[11]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	University/Club Team	Nationality
1	3	Tigie Sankoh	DB	London Warriors	Great Britain
2	16	Toshiki Sato	K	IBM Big Blue	Japan
4	30	Max Duffy	P	Kentucky	Australia
4	34	Sammis Reyes	REC	Tulane	Chile

CFL National Draft

The 2021 CFL Draft took place on May 4, 2021.[12][13] The Argonauts had seven selections in the six-round snake draft and had the seventh pick in odd rounds and the third pick in even rounds.[14] The team acquired an additional fourth-round selection after trading Shawn Lemon to the BC Lions in exchange for Davon Coleman.[15] The Argonauts also swapped their fifth-round pick for the Stampeders' sixth round-pick in a three-player trade and they exchanged sixth-round picks with the Blue Bombers in the trade for Cody Speller.[11][16]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	University Team	Hometown
1	7	Peter Nicastro	OL	Calgary	Calgary, AB
2	12	Sage Doxtater	OL	New Mexico State	Welland, ON
3	25	Luiji Vilain	DL	Michigan	Ottawa, ON
4	30	Tommy Nield	WR	McMaster	Guelph, ON
4	33	Trevor Hoyte	LB	Carleton	Gatineau, QC
6	47	Joshua Hagerty	DB	Saskatchewan	Regina, SK
6	52	Benjamin St-Juste	DB	Minnesota	Montreal, QC

Preseason

Pre-season games were not played due to the shortening of the season.[8]

Planned schedule

Week	Game	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	TV	Venue
A	Bye
B	1	Thu, May 27	7:30 p.m. EDT	vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats	NA	BMO Field
C	2	Thu, June 3	7:30 p.m. EDT	at Hamilton Tiger-Cats	NA	Tim Hortons Field

[17]

Regular season

Standings

East Division view talk edit
Team	GP	W	L	T	Pts	PF	PA	Div	Stk
Toronto Argonauts	14	9	5	0	18	309	318	6–2	L1	Details
Hamilton Tiger-Cats	14	8	6	0	16	312	244	4–4	W1	Details
Montreal Alouettes	14	7	7	0	14	356	295	5–3	L1	Details
Ottawa Redblacks	14	3	11	0	6	224	384	1–7	W1	Details

Schedule

The Argonauts initially had a schedule that featured 18 regular season games beginning on June 19 and ending on October 30.[6] The team was scheduled to be the home team for a neutral site game at an unannounced location on July 10 for a match-up with the Calgary Stampeders.[18] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the Canadian Football League delayed the start of the regular season to August 5, 2021, and the Argonauts began their 14-game season on August 7, 2021.[8]

On August 22, 2021, it was announced that the Edmonton Elks had several players test positive for COVID-19, so the August 26, 2021 game was postponed with the rescheduled date to be declared once the Elks pass health and safety protocols.[19] The CFL announced on September 2, 2021, that the game was rescheduled for Tuesday, November 16, 2021, where the Argonauts originally had a bye week.[20]

Week	Game	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		TV	Venue	Attendance	Summary
					Score	Record
1	1	Sat, Aug 7	7:00 p.m. EDT	@ Calgary Stampeders	W 23–20	1–0	TSN	McMahon Stadium	23,921	Recap
2	2	Fri, Aug 13	8:30 p.m. EDT	@ Winnipeg Blue Bombers	L 7–20	1–1	TSN/RDS	IG Field	22,143	Recap
3	3	Sat, Aug 21	4:00 p.m. EDT	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	W 30–23	2–1	TSN/ESPN2	BMO Field	9,866	Recap
4	Bye (originally scheduled for Thurs, Aug 26, vs. Edmonton Elks; rescheduled to week 16)[20]
5	4	Mon, Sept 6	1:00 p.m. EDT	@ Hamilton Tiger-Cats	L 19–32	2–2	TSN/RDS2	Tim Hortons Field	15,000	Recap
6	5	Fri, Sept 10	7:30 p.m. EDT	Hamilton Tiger-Cats	W 17–16	3–2	TSN/RDS2	BMO Field	9,702	Recap
7	6	Fri, Sept 17	9:45 p.m. EDT	@ Saskatchewan Roughriders	L 16–30	3–3	TSN	Mosaic Stadium	25,883	Recap
8	7	Fri, Sept 24	7:30 p.m. EDT	Montreal Alouettes	W 30–27	4–3	TSN/RDS	BMO Field	7,758	Recap
9	Bye
10	8	Wed, Oct 6	7:30 p.m. EDT	Ottawa Redblacks	W 35–16	5–3	TSN/RDS2	BMO Field	6,788	Recap
10	9	Mon, Oct 11	4:00 p.m. EDT	@ Hamilton Tiger-Cats	W 24–23	6–3	TSN	Tim Hortons Field	21,378	Recap
11	Bye
12	10	Fri, Oct 22	7:30 p.m. EDT	@ Montreal Alouettes	L 16–37	6–4	TSN/RDS	Molson Stadium	12,142	Recap
13	11	Sat, Oct 30	4:00 p.m. EDT	BC Lions	W 31–29 (OT)	7–4	TSN	BMO Field	9,011	Recap
14	12	Sat, Nov 6	4:00 p.m. EDT	@ Ottawa Redblacks	W 23–20	8–4	TSN/RDS2	TD Place Stadium	18,644	Recap
15	13	Fri, Nov 12	7:30 p.m. EST	Hamilton Tiger-Cats	W 31–12	9–4	TSN/ESPNews	BMO Field	10,851	Recap
16	14	Tues, Nov 16 †	7:30 p.m. EST	Edmonton Elks	L 7–13	9–5	TSN	BMO Field	6,247	Recap

[21][22][23]

 #  Games played with colour uniforms.

 #  Games played with white uniforms.

† Game rescheduled from August 26 due to an outbreak of COVID-19 among Edmonton players.

Post-season

Schedule

Game	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		TV	Venue	Attendance	Summary
				Score	Record
East Semi-Final	Bye
East Final	Sun, Dec 5	12:30 p.m. EST	Hamilton Tiger-Cats	L 19–27	0–1	TSN/RDS/ESPNews	BMO Field	21,492	Recap

[17]

 #  Games played with colour uniforms.

Team

Roster

Toronto Argonauts roster

Quarterbacks  4 McLeod Bethel-Thompson 16 Antonio Pipkin Receivers 11 Juwan Brescacin 18 Dejon Brissett  2 Ricky Collins 80 DaVaris Daniels 19 Kurleigh Gittens, Jr.  8 Eric Rogers 88 Chandler Worthy Running backs 29 D. J. Foster 34 A. J. Ouellette Fullbacks 38 Declan Cross 86 Patrick Lavoie 36 Dion Pellerin Offensive linemen 59 Dejon Allen LT 65 Dariusz Bladek RG 53 Philip Blake C 51 Theren Churchill 62 Martez Ivey RT 68 Shane Richards LG 69 Jonathan Zamora		Defensive linemen 96 Sam Acheampong DT 94 Kony Ealy 32 Cordarro Law DE 93 Benoit Marion 90 Shawn Oakman DT 56 Shane Ray DE 40 Robbie Smith Linebackers 45 Jack Cassar 47 Alexandre Chevrier  6 Chris Edwards 43 Trevor Hoyte  3 Cameron Judge 26 Dexter McCoil 10 Hénoc Muamba Defensive backs 24 Crezdon Butler S  7 Jalen Collins CB 20 Treston Decoud 12 Jamal Peters CB 23 Jeff Richards HB  1 Shaquille Richardson HB 35 Tigie Sankoh 00 Adam Thibault Special teams 14 Boris Bede K 46 Maxime Latour LS				1-Game Injured list 28 Matthew Boateng DB 44 Brandon Calver LB 90 Fabion Foote DL 64 Dylan Giffen OL 27 Joshua Hagerty DB 39 Charleston Hughes DE  9 Josh Huff WR 13 Cole McDonald QB 92 Drake Nevis DL 81 Tommy Nield SB 58 Jake Reinhart LS 37 Asnnel Robo FB 63 Trevon Tate OL 42 Justin Tuggle LB 91 Junior Turner DL 6-Game Injured list 87 Daniel Braverman SB/KR 66 Isiah Cage OL 67 Jamal Campbell OL 17 Arjen Colquhoun DB 25 Eli Mencer DL 84 Llevi Noel WR 48 Bear Woods LB 52 Peter Nicastro OL  5 John White RB		Practice roster 83 Dres Anderson WR 57 Thaddeus Coleman OL  0 Robertson Daniel DB 30 Travis Feeney DE 99 Dewayne Hendrix DL 82 Damion Jeanpiere WR 85 Brian Jones WR 44 Tarvarus McFadden DB 33 Eric Mezzalira LB 89 Cam Phillips WR 70 Toshiki Sato K 21 Cameron Scarlett RB 41 Brady Sheldon LB Suspended list -- Sam Baker FB -- Martavis Bryant WR -- Keyarris Garrett WR -- Cam Glenn DB -- Nelkas Kwemo LB -- James Sample DB -- Brandon Sheperd WR -- Nick Shortill LB -- Cody Speller OL -- Khyri Thornton DL -- Robert Woodson DB
Italics indicate American player • Bold indicates Global player • 45 Active, 24 Injured, 13 Practice, 12 Suspended Roster updated 2021-12-05 • Depth chart • Transactions (argonauts.ca) Archived 2019-06-05 at the Wayback Machine • Transactions (cfl.ca) • More CFL rosters

Coaching staff

Toronto Argonauts staff

	Front office and support staff Owner – Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment President – Bill Manning General manager – Michael Clemons Director of player personnel – John Murphy Director of Canadian scouting – Vince Magri Player relations advisor and football ops assistant – Matt Black			Head coaches Head coach – Ryan Dinwiddie Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks – Jarious Jackson Pass game coordinator and receivers – Markus Howell Running backs – Fred Reid Offensive line – Stephen McAdoo Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Vacant Defensive backs – Vacant Linebackers – Kevin Eiben Defensive line – Mike Davis Defensive assistant – Rich Stubler Defensive consultant – Chris Jones Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Mark Nelson Assistant special teams – Kevin Eiben → Coaching Staff Archived 2015-11-28 at the Wayback Machine → More CFL staffs

References

1. "Argos punch playoff ticket in OT win over the Lions". Canadian Football League. October 30, 2021.
2. "Argos roll past Ticats to clinch 1st place in the East". Canadian Football League. November 12, 2021.
3. "Tiger-Town bound: Ticats down Argos in Eastern Final". Canadian Football League. December 5, 2021.
4. CFL.ca Staff (October 8, 2019). "Argos relieve GM Jim Popp of duties". CFL.ca. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
5. "Ryan Dinwiddie named 45th head coach in Argos history". Toronto Argonauts. December 12, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
6. "Divisional games take centre stage in unique 2021 schedule". Canadian Football League. November 20, 2020.
7. "CFL Announces Plans To Return-to-play For 2021 Season". Canadian Football League. April 21, 2021.
8. "Circle your calendars: CFL releases 2021 schedule". Canadian Football League. June 15, 2021.
9. "CFL calendar busy with free agency, virtual combines, drafts". Canadian Football League. February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
10. "2021 Global Draft tracker". Canadian Football League. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
11. "Argos acquire rights to three, including Rogers, in trade with Stamps". Canadian Football League. January 31, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
12. "CFL announces date for 2021 CFL National Draft". cfl.ca. Canadian Football League. March 30, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
13. "2021 CFL Draft to feature some significant changes". CFL.ca. November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
14. "Ti-Cats snag first selection as CFL reveals 2021 order". CFL.ca. November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
15. "Lions acquire Shawn Lemon, Argos land all-star Davon Coleman in trade". CFL.ca. August 12, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
16. "Argos acquire Speller in trade with Bombers". CFL.ca. January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
17. "2021 CFL Schedule". cfl.ca. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
18. "2021 CFL schedule announced". Toronto Argonauts. November 21, 2020. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
19. "CFL Statement on the Elks-Argonauts game on Thursday". Canadian Football League. August 22, 2021.
20. "Postponed Elks-Argos game rescheduled to Nov. 16". Canadian Football League. September 2, 2021.
21. "2021 Schedule". Canadian Football League. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
22. "Nos émissions" (in French). Réseau des sports. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
23. "ESPN, Upcoming". ESPN. Retrieved August 3, 2021.

External links

• Official website