The Edmonton Elks and Calgary Stampeders are currently discussing combined practices and scrimmages per TSN’s Farhan Lalji. They have discussed the possibility of holding 1 joint practice in each city, which would still need final approval from the CFL and CFLPA before they could officially move forward.
With the CFL not playing preseason games this year, this would be a fantastic way for players to get ready for week 1 and for coaches to evaluate live reps in a covid-19 safe manner. Additionally, combined scrimmages and practices can get quite spirited and/or heated at times, giving coaches an additional layer of player evaluation that would otherwise not be available unless playing preseason games.
If the Elks and Stamps combined practices and scrimmages are approved, it would not be surprising to see other CFL teams try to do the same. Although he mentions they have not discussed it yet, Lalji believes we may see the Ottawa Redblacks practice with the Montreal Alouettes and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats practice with the Toronto Argonauts.
Per TSN’s Dave Naylor, before camp begins, players will have to do a modified quarantine similar to what the NHL had done before allowing players to join their respective teams. Players will start with a 7 day home quarantine beginning on June 25th. On July 2nd, players are scheduled to arrive at camp, where they will do another 7-day quarantine with their team. And finally, teams will hit the field for camp on July 10th.
The CFL will kick off on Thursday, August 5th at 5:30 pm MST, with the Blue Bombers facing off against the Ti-Cats at IG Field in Winnipeg for a rematch of the 2019 Grey Cup. Information regarding stadium capacities and ticket distribution will be managed by each team and announced in the weeks leading up to kickoff.
