2021 Toronto Argonauts season

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]

2021 Toronto Argonauts season
General managerMichael Clemons
Head coachRyan Dinwiddie
Home fieldBMO Field
Results
Record9–5
Division place1st, East
Playoff finishLost East Final
Team MOPMcLeod Bethel-Thompson
Team MOCKurleigh Gittens Jr.
Team MORPeter Nicastro
Uniform

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

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CFL Global Draft

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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

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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

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

Planned schedule

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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

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Standings

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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

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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

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Schedule

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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

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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

1-Game Injured list

6-Game Injured list

Practice roster

Suspended list

Italics indicate American player • Bold indicates Global player • 45 Active, 24 Injured, 13 Practice, 12 Suspended
Roster updated 2021-12-05 • Depth chartTransactions (argonauts.ca) Archived 2019-06-05 at the Wayback MachineTransactions (cfl.ca)More CFL rosters

Coaching staff

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Toronto Argonauts staff
Front office and support staff  

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. ^ "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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b c "Circle your calendars: CFL releases 2021 schedule". Canadian Football League. June 15, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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.
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