2020 Toronto Argonauts season

The 2020 Toronto Argonauts season was scheduled to be the 63rd season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 148th year of existence. This would have been the first full season with Michael Clemons as general manager following his appointment mid-way through the 2019 season.[1] This would have also been the first season for head coach Ryan Dinwiddie.[2]

2020 Toronto Argonauts season
General managerMichael Clemons
Head coachRyan Dinwiddie
Home fieldBMO Field
Results
RecordN/A
Division placeN/A, East
Playoff finishSeason cancelled

Training camps, pre-season games, and regular season games were initially postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto. The CFL announced on April 7, 2020, that the start of the 2020 season would not occur before July 2020.[3] On May 20, 2020, it was announced that the league would likely not begin regular season play prior to September 2020.[4] On August 17, 2020, however, the season was officially cancelled due to COVID-19.[5]

Offseason

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Personnel changes

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Following the end of a disappointing season for first-year head coach, Corey Chamblin, new general manager, Michael Clemons, stated that Chamblin's position would undergo a thorough review.[6] Over a month later, on December 12, 2019, it was announced that Chamblin would be relieved of his coaching duties and Ryan Dinwiddie would be named the team's new head coach, the 45th in team history.[2]

CFL National Draft

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The 2020 CFL National Draft took place on April 30, 2020.[7] The Argonauts held the second selection in each round of the draft by virtue of finishing second to last in the 2019 league standings, less any traded picks.[8] They obtained another first-round pick and gained a third-round pick after trading Zach Collaros and a fifth-round pick to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.[9] To acquire Collaros, the Argonauts traded their fourth-round pick to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.[10] The team swapped a third-round pick for a fifth-round pick with the Montreal Alouettes that saw the club acquire Ryan Bomben.[11] The Argonauts traded a seventh-round pick and Martese Jackson to Edmonton in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2019 CFL Draft.[12][8] The team also traded an eighth-round selection to Montreal in exchange for Boseko Lokombo.[13]

The team also gained a territorial selection for the second consecutive year after finishing in the bottom two of the previous year's standings.[8][14]

Round Pick Player Position School Hometown
1 2 Dejon Brissett WR Virginia Mississauga, ON
1 9 Theren Churchill OL Regina Stettler, AB
2 11 Jack Cassar LB Carleton Mississauga, ON
3 20T Samuel Acheampong DL Wilfrid Laurier Brampton, ON
3 28 Dylan Giffen OL Western Strathroy, ON
5 42 Dion Pellerin RB Waterloo Abbotsford, BC
6 48 Samuel Baker WR Saskatchewan Esterhazy, SK

CFL Global Draft

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The 2020 CFL Global Draft was scheduled to take place on April 16, 2020.[15] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this draft and its accompanying combine were postponed to occur just before the start of training camp, which was ultimately cancelled.[3][16] The Argonauts were scheduled to select second in each round with the number of rounds never announced.[15]

Planned schedule

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Preseason

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For the third consecutive season, the Argonauts were scheduled to play their home pre-season game at a U Sports football stadium.[17]

Week Game Date Kickoff Opponent TV Venue
A Bye
B 1 Thu, May 28 11:00 a.m. EDT vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats NA Varsity Stadium
C 2 Sat, June 6 1:00 p.m. EDT at Montreal Alouettes NA Molson Stadium

[17][18]

Regular season

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The Argonauts were scheduled to be the home team for a neutral site game for the Week 7 match-up with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.[17] The league had been contemplating returning to Moncton, having been there in the previous season, but it was officially announced on January 23, 2020, that a Touchdown Atlantic game would be played in Halifax at Huskies Stadium.[19][20] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced on May 20, 2020, that the game was cancelled.[4]

Week Game Date Kickoff Opponent TV Venue
1 1 Fri, June 12 7:00 p.m. EDT at Ottawa Redblacks TSN TD Place Stadium
2 2 Sat, June 20 7:00 p.m. EDT vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats TSN BMO Field
3 Bye
4 3 Sat, July 4 7:00 p.m. EDT vs. Calgary Stampeders TSN BMO Field
5 4 Sat, July 11 7:00 p.m. EDT at Saskatchewan Roughriders TSN Mosaic Stadium
6 5 Fri, July 17 9:30 p.m. EDT at Edmonton Football Team TSN Commonwealth Stadium
7 6 Sat, July 25 4:00 p.m. EDT vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders TSN Huskies Stadium
8 7 Fri, July 31 7:00 p.m. EDT vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers TSN BMO Field
9 8 Sat, August 8 7:00 p.m. EDT at Calgary Stampeders TSN McMahon Stadium
10 Bye
11 9 Sat, August 22 4:00 p.m. EDT vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats TSN BMO Field
12 10 Fri, August 28 7:00 p.m. EDT vs. Montreal Alouettes TSN/RDS BMO Field
13 11 Mon, Sept 7 1:00 p.m. EDT at Hamilton Tiger-Cats TSN Tim Hortons Field
14 12 Sat, Sept 12 10:00 p.m. EDT at BC Lions TSN BC Place
15 13 Sat, Sept 19 4:00 p.m. EDT vs. Ottawa Redblacks TSN BMO Field
16 14 Sat, Sept 26 7:00 p.m. EDT at Ottawa Redblacks TSN TD Place Stadium
17 15 Fri, Oct 2 7:00 p.m. EDT vs. BC Lions TSN BMO Field
18 16 Mon, Oct 12 1:00 p.m. EDT at Montreal Alouettes TSN/RDS Molson Stadium
19 17 Sat, Oct 17 7:00 p.m. EDT at Winnipeg Blue Bombers TSN IG Field
20 Bye
21 18 Sat, Oct 31 1:00 p.m. EDT vs. Edmonton Football Team TSN BMO Field

[17][18]

Team

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Roster

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Toronto Argonauts roster
Quarterbacks

Receivers

Running backs

Fullbacks

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Italics indicate American player • Bold indicates Global player • 89 Roster
Roster updated 2020-08-17 • Depth chartTransactions (argonauts.ca)Transactions (cfl.ca)More CFL rosters

Coaching staff

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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
  • Coordinator of logistics – Alex Russell
  • Equipment manager – Danny Webb
  • Assistant equipment manager – David Sillberg
  • Head athletic therapist – Josh Shewell
  • Assistant athletic therapist – Mark Belmore
 

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Coaching Staff Archived 2015-11-28 at the Wayback Machine
More CFL staffs

References

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  1. ^ CFL.ca Staff (October 8, 2019). "Argos relieve GM Jim Popp of duties". CFL.ca. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Ryan Dinwiddie named 45th head coach in Argos history". Toronto Argonauts. December 12, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Ambrosie issues statement on behalf of CFL". cfl.ca. April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "CFL provides update regarding 2020". Canadian Football League. May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  5. ^ "CFL not to play shortened season in the fall". Canadian Football League. August 17, 2020.
  6. ^ "Corey Chamblin's position as Toronto Argonauts coach pending review". The Star. November 3, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  7. ^ "CFL to hold global player combines in Europe, Mexico and, and Japan". press.cfl.ca. November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c "2020 CFL Draft". CFL.ca. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  9. ^ "Bombers acquire Zach Collaros from Argos". October 9, 2019.
  10. ^ "Zach's Back: Argos acquire Collaros from Riders". July 31, 2019.
  11. ^ "Als, Argos swap Heath for Bomben in trade". July 29, 2018.
  12. ^ "Esks acquire Martese Jackson from Argos". September 10, 2018.
  13. ^ "Argos acquire rights to LB Lokombo in trade with Als". cfl.ca. Canadian Football League. January 31, 2020.
  14. ^ "CFL Draft to feature territorial picks". CFL.ca. April 17, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  15. ^ a b "Key dates to circle on your calendar in 2020". CFL.ca. January 27, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  16. ^ "CFL Global Draft rescheduled as lead-in event prior to training camp". CFL.ca. March 24, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  17. ^ a b c d "Argos 2020 schedule released". Toronto Argonauts. December 2019.
  18. ^ a b "2020 CFL Schedule". cfl.ca. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  19. ^ "CFL commissioner envisions first international regular-season game in 2021". cbc.ca. January 7, 2020.
  20. ^ "The biggest CFL Touchdown Atlantic ever is coming to Halifax this summer". Canadian Football League. January 23, 2020.
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