By Canadian Press

Coach Dinwiddie expects every CFL team to be gunning for Grey Cup champion Argonauts

Jan 10, 2023 | 3:13 PM

Head coach Ryan Dinwiddie is good with the Toronto Argonauts being a measuring stick in 2023.

As the defending Grey Cup champion, Toronto can expect an opponent’s best effort this season. But Dinwiddie figures the Argos won’t be the only CFL team with a bull’s-eye firmly on its chest in 2023.

“I think everybody is going to be gunning for us but I’m sure Winnipeg is going to be in the same boat,” Dinwiddie said via telephone Tuesday from the CFL winter meetings in Kananaskis, Alta. “They also played in the (Grey Cup), they won the West … I think both teams will kind of have a bull’s-eye on them.

“With us playing Hamilton four times that (Grey Cup win) is going to increase the excitement of those games. It’s just what it is, I’m looking forward to it.”

Winnipeg (CFL-best 15-3 record) finished atop the West Division and made a third straight Grey Cup appearance. Toronto thwarted the Bombers’ quest for a third consecutive title when defensive lineman Robbie Smith blocked Marc Liegghio’s 47-yard field goal try with 54 seconds remaining to preserve the Argos’ 24-23 victory at Mosaic Stadium.

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It was Toronto’s first CFL title since 2017 and came after a bitter 27-19 home loss to Hamilton in the 2021 East final after the Argos (9-5) finished atop the conference.

Toronto (11-7) claimed first in the East last year, Dinwiddie’s second as head coach.

“I think we have a standard we have to live up to now,” he said. “I felt like we had that (expectation) last year after getting to the East final in Year 1.

“It’s a new year, new team. It’s going to be a tough next four months to make sure we put a roster together to match what we had last year.”

Toronto certainly has roster questions, most notably with starter McLeod Bethel-Thompson and Canadian running back Andrew Harris, who’re both pending free agents..

Bethel-Thompson, 34, served as Ricky Ray’s backup in the ’17 Grey Cup game. The six-foot-four, 220-pound Californian led the CFL in passing last season but suffered a dislocated right thumb in the fourth quarter of last year’s title game.

Toronto’s offence didn’t skip a beat as backup Chad Kelly, completed four-of-six passes for 43 yards and had a key 20-yard run on second-and-15 that set up A.J. Ouellette’s go-ahead five-yard TD run.

After the win, Bethel-Thompson talked openly about the difficulty of being away from his wife and young daughter for long stretches in order to play football.

“We’ve texted back and forth and have an open communication,” Dinwiddie said. “I wanted to let him get through the holidays and spend time with his wife.

“We’ll see where he’s at in a week or two, which is nice because we have time. I just wanted him to get away from football and see if he wants to run it back and do it all again.”

Dinwiddie said Harris has resumed working out. The 35-year-old Winnipeg native suffered a torn pectoral muscle last August that was originally thought to be season-ending but Harris was able to return late in the regular season.

The Grey Cup victory was Harris’s third straight, the first two coming with Winnipeg. Harris signed with Toronto in free agency.

“If he feels like he can play I think there’s a good chance for it (return to Toronto),” Dinwiddie said. “He left Winnipeg, which was heartbreaking for him, and to come here and get it done against Winnipeg I think was very rewarding for him.

“It might be the right time for him to hang it up but we’re keeping that door open.”

The Grey Cup victory was especially rewarding for Toronto linebacker Henoc Muamba, who earned game MVP and top Canadian honours. There’ve been reports Muamba, 33, is contemplating retirement but Dinwiddie said all indications are Muamba, another pending free agent, wants to continue playing.

“I’ve had conversations with him and everything sounds like he wants to come back,” Dinwiddie said. “Now we have to figure out what that contract is going to look like and how can we make it work for both parties and go from there.

“But he’s just a true professional and one of the veterans I trust will be ready for camp.”

Last week, Toronto released veteran receiver Brandon Banks after just one season. The Grey Cup win was the first of Banks’s illustrious nine-year CFL tenure.

Banks signed with Toronto after he and Hamilton mutually parted ways after eight seasons following the 2021 campaign. The 2019 CFL MVP had 37 catches for 522 yards and four TDs in 16 regular-season games last year.

“I was very excited for him to come here and get a Grey Cup,” Dinwiddie said. “(The release) was strictly financial … but outside of that you never close the door especially with guys you enjoy coaching and feel could bring something to your organization.

“Let Brandon hit free agency, see where he’s at and if he’s going to keep playing because there are rumours he’s going to get into coaching. If he wants to get into coaching I’d love to help him in that direction.”

Rush end Shane Ray and linebacker Wynton McManis both missed the Grey Cup game due to torn bicep injuries. Ideally, Dinwiddie would like both back but noted Ray, a 2015 first-round pick of the Denver Broncos, has a workout scheduled with the Kansas City Chiefs while McManis is a pending free agent..

“We’ll have to see what happens with that … but we’d like to give Shane another shot because we felt he played well when he was in there,” Dinwiddie said. “Wynton knows I want him back, we all want Wynton back.

“He’s part of the Argos family and hopefully is for a long time.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2023.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press