CALGARY — All-star linebacker Adam Bighill makes his Calgary Stampeders debut one year after a serious knee injury that ultimately landed him with a new CFL club.
The 36-year-old, who has won the league's Most Outstanding Defensive Player award three times in his career, was signed to Calgary's practice roster in June after six years with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Bighill was activated for Monday's Labour Day game in Calgary against the Edmonton Elks.
"It's been a long road to get back to this point," he said Sunday at McMahon Stadium.
Bighill was a key cog in helping the Blue Bombers end a 28-year Grey Cup drought in 2019 and in winning another in 2021.
The middle linebacker underwent season-ending knee surgery after injuring his anterior cruciate ligament in Winnipeg's Labour Day weekend game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders last year. Winnipeg released him in the off-season.
"I've always had an underdog story, so this is just another challenge that I rise up against," said Bighill.
Calgary (7-3-0) wants to stretch its unbeaten streak against West Division opponents to 6-0 on Monday.
"If you can beat those teams in the West, that's how you end up winning your conference and that's what we want, a first-round bye," Stampeders general manger and head coach Dave Dickenson said.
Edmonton (4-6-0) started the season 1-6, but rides a three-game win streak into Calgary.
In four starts since taking over for Tre Ford, quarterback Cody Fajardo has completed 77 per cent of pass attempts for an average of 272 passing yards per game and a total of four touchdowns.
Fajardo has also rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown over those four games.
"He has lifted the room," said Elks head coach Mark Kilam. "We look different with him at the controls, but he has this veteran presence that elevates his teammates, and I think you see that in our offence."
The game will also be the first of the regular season at McMahon for Kilam after almost two decades on Calgary's coaching staff, including the last 14 seasons of his tenure as special teams co-ordinator. The Stampeders hosted the Elks in a pre-season game.
"We got all the feels out in the pre-season," Kilam said. "We're just focused on what's in front and that's just a big game versus a really good football team."
In a dozen seasons with both the B.C. Lions and Winnipeg, Bighill ranks sixth all-time in defensive tackles (891) in the CFL. He's a six-time CFL all-star who also won a Grey Cup with the Lions in 2011.
"He's kind of seen and done it and a lot of the guys, because we're so new and fresh and he hasn't been here, it's not like they know a lot about his career," Dickenson said. "In my opinion, he's certainly a Hall of Famer if not up there in first-ballot territory."
Bighill didn't suit up against his former club in Calgary's three regular-season wins over Winnipeg, although a playoff meeting is a possibility.
"The energy on Labour Day always is awesome," he said. "I've been in part of the one out in Winnipeg and Sask, it's amazing. From what I've seen and heard, it is the same here.
"The speed picks up, the excitement picks up, and this is really a mark of the back third of the season, where every team needs to be scratching and clawing to be better every week and points really matter from here on out. So it's go time."
Calgary's defence has allowed a league-low 15 offensive touchdowns while sacking quarterbacks 17 times in the last six games.
"Their front four is doing a great job of getting pressure and that allows eight guys to drop back into coverage, which makes the windows really tight for quarterbacks," Fajardo said. "Their front four has been a menace this year in creating pressure.
"Their defensive backs and their linebackers have caught the ball and have made game-changing plays when the ball's gone their way, so I've got to do a tremendous job of protecting the ball tomorrow. That will give us the best chance to win if I can protect the ball and not give them extra possessions or short fields."
Fajardo's record on Labour Day weekend is 1-2 from his days as a Saskatchewan Roughrider, while his Calgary counterpart Vernon Adams Jr., who was acquired from the Lions last year, gets his first start in a game on the September holiday weekend.
"Excited to feel that adrenalin when the jets fly by," Adams stated. "We know this is when the season really starts, this Labour Day weekend. I'm telling the guys, 'hey, let's think playoff mentality. Let's think win or go home, even though we're not there yet, but we want to prepare like that.'"
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 31, 2025.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
