Jun 14, 2025; Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Saskatchewan Roughriders running back A.J. Ouellette (45) runs with ball against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats during the second half at Hamilton Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images The defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts will look for their first win of the season when they host the unbeaten Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday night.
The Argonauts (0-2) have only scored 29 points in 2025, the fewest among teams that have played two games. The Roughriders (2-0) are averaging 29.5 points per game, tied for fourth in the league in the early going.
Despite the inauspicious start, Toronto appears to be sticking with quarterback Nick Arbuckle for at least another week until Chad Kelly gets the all-clear to return.
Kelly sustained a fractured tibia and fibula in his right leg in last November’s East Final against Montreal. Arbuckle finished off that victory against the Alouettes and earned Grey Cup MVP honors in the Argonauts’ 41-24 defeat of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
With Kelly still rehabilitating, Arbuckle has completed 51 of 74 passes for 582 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions, including a pick-6 in last Saturday’s 29-19 home loss to the Calgary Stampeders.
“I would say probably another week,” Argos head coach Ryan Dinwiddie recently said of Kelly’s return, per 3 Down Nation. “… (I told him), ‘I’m not going to put you out there unless your mobility is there to protect yourself.’ Once I feel like he can use his legs and avoid contact, we’ll get him out there.”
Arbuckle could find success against a Saskatchewan defense that is allowing a league-high 374.5 passing yards per game.
Last Saturday in Hamilton, the Roughriders used a 15-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Harris to KeeSean Johnson midway through the fourth quarter to secure a 28-23 victory over the Tiger-Cats.
Harris has completed 71.4 percent of his passes for 572 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions this season. Top targets Samuel Emilus and Johnson have combined for 24 catches, 362 yards and two scores.
Riders running back A.J. Ouellette, who rushed for 1,009 yards with Toronto in 2023, has 117 through two games, but the two-time All-Star should be motivated to face his original CFL team.
“Some of the runs he made, they gained 4 yards and he made two guys miss — truly incredible,” Harris said after the win against Hamilton, per Sportscage.com. “A.J. has always been the guy that we knew that we thought we got in free agency.
“You’re really starting to see him come into form and who he is.”
The teams split last season’s two meetings, with each winning at home in games decided by a total of eight points.
–Field Level Media
