On Monday, the Montreal Alouettes re-signed four key players on the offensive line. Veterans Kristian Matte, Philippe Gagnon, Sean Jamieson, and Landon Rice have all agreed to two-year contract extensions.
Kristian Matte is a 36-year-old from Saint-Hubert, Quebec, who was a 2010 first-round pick by the Alouettes out of Concordia. He played in 149 games in ten seasons with the Alouettes. He is one of the last players from the 2010 Grey Cup championship team.
Philippe Gagnon is a 29-year-old from L’Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec, who was a 2016 first-round pick by the Alouettes out of Laval. He played two seasons with the Alouettes before leaving for Ottawa in 2019 and played nine games for the Redblacks before being released.
He returned to Montreal shortly after. Gagnon has played 45 games in four seasons with the Alouettes.
Sean Jamieson is a 27-year-old from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and was a 2016 third-round pick by the Alouettes out of Western. He played 47 games in four seasons for the Alouettes.
Landon Rice is a 33-year-old from Brandon, Manitoba, out of the University of Manitoba and was on the 2007 Vanier Cup championship team. He spent the first five seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before being traded to the Alouettes as part of a deal for Johnny Manziel. He has played 94 games in seven seasons between the Tiger-Cats and Alouettes.
Alouettes General Manager Danny Maciocia said it was important to keep the core together. “Our offensive line was one of the most important cogs in our offensive successes in 2021, and it was imperative that we keep its core together for the near future of our team. These players all wanted to continue playing in Montreal and have more success together.”
This year, the Alouettes were the only team to reach 2,000 yards rushing. The offensive helped William Stanback finish atop the CFL with 1,176 yards, 300-yards more than Stampeders running back Ka’Deem Carey.
The Montreal Alouettes are at Tim Hortons Field for this Sunday’s Eastern Semi-Final against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at 1 pm on ESPN2.
