[IMPORTANT: Make this 4 times longer with much more detail]
Don Landry CFL.ca Comebacks. We all love ’em. Unless, that is, the story is being written by an arch-rival team against our faves. Then, it’s not so appealing. Individually speaking, not much in sports can touch the triumphant return as heart-filling storyline. RELATED » 1 under the radar Canadian on every CFL team » 3 high-impact Canadian players from every CFL team » Subscribe to the CFL’s official YouTube channel » Subscribe to the CFL’s newsletter for exclusive offers and league updates Think of Jeremiah Masoli, who last season, got his first win as a starting quarterback after a thousand days and two major injuries. He took a post-game knee and covered his face as the emotions took over. With that in mind I now present five comeback stories just waiting to be written in 2025. TYSON PHILPOT | RECEIVER | MONTREAL ALOUETTES Tyson Philpot was having an absolutely dynamite season in 2024 when he was cut down by a foot injury in game nine, destined to miss the remainder of the schedule. “It’s a minor setback for a major comeback,” Philpot told MontrealAlouettes.com last November, just prior to getting the screw removed from his left foot. After emerging as Grey Cup hero the previous November — he pulled in the winning touchdown reception with just seconds remaining on the clock — Philpot followed up that splash by becoming the Als’ number one threat last season, with 58 receptions for 779 yards. Double those numbers and you can see just where Philpot was likely headed in 2024. Maybe that’s precisely where he’s going in 2025. DALTON SCHOEN | RECEIVER | WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS Dalton Schoen won Most Outstanding Rookie in 2022, can he get back to that form in 2025? (James Paddle-Grant/CFL.ca) “I’m hopeful and confident I can be every bit the player I was,” said Dalton Schoen, just after signing a new deal with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in February . If he is, we all know what Winnipeg has in the 28-year-old receiver, who burst onto the CFL scene like few other receivers ever have, piling up 2,663 yards, 141 receptions and 26 touchdowns in his first two years. But in game three of season three, Schoen was devastated by a torn ACL and missed the rest of the 2024 campaign. Will he be every bit the player he’s been? Don’t ever tell me a receiver can’t be what he once was after a serious knee injury. Because I will always come back at you by saying “S.J. Green.” REGGIE STUBBLEFIELD | SAM LINEBACKER/DB | HAMILTON TIGER-CATS Reggie Stubblefield, Tiger-Cat. 🐯 #CFLFreeAgency pic.twitter.com/YBcT7apmd1 — CFL (@CFL) February 12, 2025 When the Montreal Alouettes lost SAM linebacker Adarius Pickett to free agency prior to the 2023 season, they had a huge hole to fill at a crucial spot in the defence. Enter Reggie Stubblefield, who eventually filled that void and had 38 tackles, two interceptions and a forced fumble during the regular season that followed, and 23 tackles in three playoff games, 11 in the Eastern Final alone. He was named Montreal’s Most Outstanding Rookie in 2023 and a step up to Most Outstanding Defensive Player was a definite possibility for his sophomore year. However, Stubblefield tore an ACL in Montreal’s season-opener and he would not play again in 2024. “The recovery’s been going so well,” he said after signing a deal with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last month. “I’m so excited.” Can Stubblefield pick up where he left off? If so, the Ticats’ defence gets the secret sauce it’s been looking for the last couple of years. JAMES BUTLER | RUNNING BACK | BC LIONS After two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, James Butler is heading back to the BC Lions (Geoff Robins/CFL.ca) James Butler is the player on this list who is not coming back from injury, unless you consider being a healthy scratch for large chunks of a season to be an injury to one’s pride. After eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark with BC in 2022, Butler signed a free agent contract with the Hamilton Ticats and he was a hit in Hamilton, with a marvellous campaign during which he rushed for over 1,100 yards and caught passes for over 500 more. However, in 2024, the Ticats liked what they saw in rookie back Greg Bell, and Butler was relegated to back-up status. He still contributed very well when asked to, but was far off the numbers we’d grown accustomed to seeing, due to lack of opportunity. Released by the ‘Cats in January, Butler signed a deal with the Lions and at the age of 30, seems poised for a comeback season that could see him get back to 1,000-yard rusher status. ADAM BIGHILL | LINEBACKER | FREE AGENT Adam Bighill is currently a free agent but will he sign with a team before the start of the 2025 season? (James Paddle-Grant/CFL.ca) At the age of 36 and coming off a season-ending knee injury, linebacker Adam Bighill was told by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers that they’d not be requiring his services in 2025. The next stop for Bighill might be the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. But that could actually be two stops down the line, if the three-time Most Outstanding Defensive Player has his way. Last we heard, Bighill still wants to play. “I would like to think that there’s going to be interest out there somewhere,” Bighill told reporter Paul Friesen in January. I don’t know about you but if I were a CFL GM and I happened to receive a video showing Bighill is moving very well on that surgically-repaired left knee of his, I might be tempted to get him in camp to see what that well-known Bighill leadership might mean to my team. Will he get the chance to write one more chapter? Get all the top stories from across the league delivered to your inbox.
