One item on every team’s to-do list for 2026 |
Anyone who celebrates Christmas knows this is the busiest time of the year.
Between parties, work events and trying to come up with thoughtful gifts for those you love, all while avoiding the temptation of indifferently handing out random gift cards, it can be difficult to keep your head above water. The key to surviving it all is a clear schedule with everything written down, allowing you to knock items off your to-do list one by one.
Sound familiar?
Now imagine you are the general manager of a CFL team.
RELATED
» View the entire 2026 schedule
» MMQB: 4 players who keep finding new heights
» 5 faces in new places that impacted 2025
» 3 records that were broken in 2025
» Subscribe to the CFL’s newsletter for exclusive offers and league updates
You have key players you want to extend, free agency approaching, executive-level vacancies to consider and looming coaching decisions to make. I do not have all the answers for every club, but I would like to humbly put forward one item each team should check off its to-do list sooner rather than later.
AJ Ouellette was a force this season against the Lions.
This is no slight toward James Butler. The soon-to-be free agent running back is coming off his best CFL season, finishing third in rushing while setting career highs in both rushing yards and touchdowns.
This is more about the old saying: if you cannot beat them, take away the player who keeps beating you.
In 2025, the Lions went 1-3 against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Their lone victory came in Week 21, when the Riders had nothing to play for.