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The final game of the 2024 CFL season for the Calgary Stampeders could be – and should be – the swan song for several of the team’s current contributors.

Not because they go out on a good note.

Far from it.

In fact, the only positive sign from the final race of the year would be a victory – the team’s first in nine straight games and first on the road in what has been an ugly campaign – or a personal performance so incredible that it changes the way an underachiever is viewed heading into what should be an offseason marked by a major transition.

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“Whatever reason you have to come up with to go out there and perform, you have to do it,” said Stampeders veteran linebacker Cam Judge, himself named the team’s nominee for two league awards – that of defensive player par excellence and that of Canadian par excellence.

“Whatever it takes to fuel you or motivate you…” Judge continued. “And if it’s not, you have to find it, because that’s our job at the end of the day.”

At the end of the season, there will be changes with the Calgary club.

Most likely basically after what was a 4-12-1 last-place debacle, with one last chance to set that record – and perhaps themselves as individuals – seem at least somewhat best Saturday night against the host. Saskatchewan Roughriders (9-7-1) at Mosaic Stadium in Regina (5 p.m., TSN, QR Calgary).

Of course, there hasn’t been a game beyond this one since the playoffs slipped away from them a few weeks ago, ending a 19-year playoff run for the franchise.

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“Obviously it sucks when the year ends on a short note (non-playoffs),” Stamps quarterback Tommy Stevens said. “But we approach Saturday like we would any other game. You want to go into it wanting to win.

“So we’re doing everything we can throughout the week to prepare for it, and we’re playing a really good opponent.”

In doing so, the Stamps are ready to turn to Jake Maier at quarterback.

The veteran returns to the starting role after being benched twice earlier in the season and with the last two weeks’ starter, Matt Shiltz, sidelined with a shoulder injury non-thrower.

“We’re going out there to win, and I think Jake gives us the best chance,” Stamps general manager and head coach Dave Dickenson said. “The guys rallied together and had a great week of practice.”

Apparently Maier was included.

“My mentality since I got here is I was going to play every football game I could,” Maier said. “It’s no different.

“Of course, I’ve been in and out of the lineup over the last month. But… yeah… we have one more on the road, and (in Regina) a really fun place to play.

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However, it won’t be much fun without a victory.

And the fun has eluded the team for months now, with no final victory really able to change that.

Or even likely to change Maier’s future with the Stamps.

“I’m sure when this game ends and in the weeks or months that follow, we’ll have a lot to talk about,” Maier said. “But at the end of the day, I’m out there with these guys for one more game.

“I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to do this, because I know how rare it is for someone in my situation to be passed over in an opportunity to play.”

That said, the Stamps’ misfortunes in 2024 certainly aren’t all Maier’s fault.

Questionable coaching and an ineffective offense — often absent for several quarters at a time — may be partly to blame.

So did the defense, which mysteriously disappeared for long stretches of the season.

Indeed, the team – as a whole, with limited talents – fell flat.

“Unfortunately, when you lose that many, there’s really no isolation issue or anything that you can understand,” Dickenson added. “The objective for us is to be present, to play well and to finish.

“It’s like anything else…you’re trying to make sure that your people know that you’re a professional football player or a professional coach and that you will show up and do your job to the best of your ability with maximum effort .

“We’re going to introduce ourselves. I’m counting on the guys to give me their best and I hope we come out with a victory.

SHORT ROUTE

Quarterback Logan Bonner joins the Stamps roster for the first time since Shiltz returned from an ankle injury about six weeks ago. It’s Shiltz he replaces on the list of active QB players… Also back on the roster, RB Peyton Logan after being left out healthy last week… To make way for Logan, RB Kylin Hill is out of the lineup.

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