Coming into Week 6 of the 2026 CFL season, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats face several obstacles as they attempt to bounce back from a disappointing one-point loss last week to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The obvious challenge is that the Tiger-Cats must travel to Saskatchewan to face the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the defending Grey Cup champions. However, the Tiger-Cats are also forced to find solutions at their quarterback position after starting quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell suffered an ankle injury that required surgery.
The severity of Mitchell's injury means that Hamilton will be without their starting quarterback for several weeks this season. In addition, the Tiger-Cats' backup quarterbacks, Tre Ford and Jake Dolegala, failed to show they are the immediate answer to step in for Mitchell and lead the Tiger-Cats' offensive attack, which should be one of the most explosive in the CFL. That left Hamilton looking for answers at quarterback, resulting in the Tiger-Cats signing veteran CFL quarterback Jarret Doege.
While Doege does not guarantee success as a signal-caller for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, he comes to Hamilton with an abundance of experience playing quarterback in the CFL. The 6'1", 210-pound Doege has played three seasons in the CFL, including two seasons with the Edmonton Elks (2023-2024) and the Toronto Argonauts (2025). While Doege has played in 38 games during his CFL career, he played in all 18 games for the Argonauts in 2025, completing 97 of 142 passes for 905 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions.
While adding Doege does not necessarily mean he will be the starting quarterback this week for the Tiger-Cats, he will have a chance to compete on the practice field with Ford and Dolegala to see which quarterback can demonstrate chemistry with the Tiger-Cats' loaded arsenal of receivers. Among the Tiger-Cats' active quarterbacks, Doege is a true pocket passer, similar to Bo Levi Mitchell. In comparison, Ford plays his best football when he plays on the run, which creates a lack of continuity offensively as the Tiger-Cats must move on to another quarterback.
Like Mitchell, Doege has outstanding mechanics and footwork when playing quarterback from the pocket. Doege also has the stature and competitive fire to step in and spark the Tiger-Cats. Also, in his past playing experience, he has demonstrated the ability to manage a game and find the open receiver within a CFL-style offensive scheme. However, unlike Ford, Doege requires solid pass protection because he struggles to play efficient football on the run while attempting to make off-platform throws. In addition, Doege struggles with accuracy on his deep passes and, when making decisions under pressure, has a bad habit of turning the ball over in clumps.
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