Toronto Argonauts QB Nick Arbuckle was just days from calling it a career, retiring, and fielding calls for a coaching position.
Now, he’s a Grey Cup champion and Most Valuable Player.
With no contract in sight and no interest from any of the Canadian Football League’s nine clubs following the pre-season training camp, the 30-year-old American initially opted not to renew his work visa to return to Canada for the 2024 CFL season.
That decision quickly changed when one of his former employers—the Toronto Argonauts—came calling in late May.
With their star quarterback Chad Kelly having been just handed a nine-game suspension set to begin on Week 1, a fall-back plan was quickly constructed. With the preseason set to begin just one week later, Arbuckle and the Argos swiftly put pen to paper on a one-year contract.
Arbuckle, who had played in seven games for Toronto in 2021, was called into action to battle for the starter’s gig for the first half of the season. No, he did not prevail as the No. 1 option, ultimately losing out to youngster Cameron Dukes, who had served as Kelly’s backup during the 2023 season. Dukes played the first eight games of 2024, but his performance was not top-tier. Arbuckle was given the starter’s ball for Week 9, to which he helped the Argos triumph over the Calgary Stampeders.
Kelly returned for Week 10 and led Toronto to a stellar second half, setting up a rematch of the 2023 East Final with the Montreal Alouettes. This time, it was Toronto that prevailed, but Kelly did not make it through the game unscathed. His night ended with a broken leg in the fourth quarter, to which Arbuckle came in, chosen to lead the charge over Dukes.
The Argos triumphed, with Arbuckle completing five of eight passes for 73 yards in the 30-28 road victory. The win certainly came at a cost, with Kelly—the league’s highest-paid player—now out for at least three months in recovery, meaning the Grey Cup was Arbuckle’s to start.
Taking on the juggernaut Winnipeg Blue Bombers—making their fifth-straight Grey Cup appearance—meant the Argonauts were heavy underdogs entering the matchup. However, according to defensive back DaShaun Amos, who registered two tackles and a key interception in the Grey Cup, that narrative was not followed by his teammates.
“First and foremost, I want to give all honour, praise and glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I wouldn’t be here without him,” Amos told TSN’s Claire Hanna following the game. “The underdog thing was really something outside of our locker room. Within that locker room, we always knew we had enough in that locker room to win that game. So that was one of those things that didn’t really phase us too much. We just came out and played our game. We knew it was going to be about us.”
Amos’ game-sealing interception was just one of the many momentum-changers experienced in the 111th Grey Cup. Toronto fell behind early but stuck to its game plan and shut down the Blue Bombers’ aggressive offensive attack. 27 of the Argos’ 41 points came off turnovers, while tying a CFL record for the most points scored in a Grey Cup fourth quarter (25) in the 41-24 triumph.
“God is just so incredible in our lives,” Arbuckle told TSN’s James Duthie on the championship stage. “Without my family’s faith and my wife’s belief in me and the sacrifices she and my kids have made—this little one is four years old, and I think she’s lived in seven houses, all over the country, U.S. and Canada, the west and the east—we never thought all this would come. I was a few weeks from calling it quits when I got this opportunity; it’s unbelievable.”
Arbuckle was named the Grey Cup MVP with a 252-yard, two-touchdown, and 70% completion performance in the biggest game of his career.
“It makes me appreciate the journey so much,” Arbuckle continued after receiving his trophy. “All the things I went through and things I’ve learned. The tough times, the good times. The players and coaches I’ve been blessed to be with at each stop along the way each taught me so much and prepared me for this moment to be the best person, player, teammate, leader, dad, husband that I could be. It’s all in His timing. I couldn’t have done this at any other time before in my life.”
29-year-old defensive lineman Folarin Orimolade was asked on national television about the team’s journey to its second Grey Cup in three seasons. His answer was also faith-filled and about the group’s accomplishment rather than individual accolades.
“I’m so grateful,” Orimolade told TSN’s Matthew Scianitti. “I thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I thank my family and my friends for coming down. My mom and brother and my dad are here. It’s amazing. But the first 12 games of the season, we were in a bit of a rough spot, we needed to win some games to even make the playoffs. We just started taking it day by day, never getting too high, never getting too low. That’s what we preached here.”
That message was clearly a common one within the Argonauts’ locker room, as their newfound offensive leader also conveyed the importance of strong belief.
“No moment in these three hours that we were about to face is greater or more challenging than everything we overcame to get here,” Arbuckle said of the team’s mentality heading in. “And that goes with my whole playing career and all of us. We each have a story. We each fought through a lot of adversity to get here, a lot of challenges and doubts for ourselves and other people. But we all had each other and our families and everyone who supports us. That we can do it, we believed in each other, we believed in ourselves, and we took care of it.”
From improbable to impossible to an opportunity, championship, and MVP performance, 2024 has been nothing short of incredible for Arbuckle and the Argos.
“I’m just so happy for the guys. That’s what I play for. For the guys to have these moments. It’s just so special. I just can’t wait to celebrate with them,” he said with emotion. “I wouldn’t even be playing football right now if it wasn’t for them, my wife, and the sacrifices they have made for me to just keep going, keep believing, keep trying. It keeps everything in perspective. They didn’t know this was coming, neither did I, but we kept believing.”
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