Stampeders receiver Jalen Philpot keeping an open mind about CFL's 2027 field changes

Montreal Alouettes' Wesley Sutton, right, gives chase to Calgary Stampeders' Jalen Philpot during second half CFL football action in Calgary, Thursday, July 24, 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Jalen Philpot is coming around to the CFL’s plan to move goalposts backwards next season.

Last September, CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston unveiled the league’s two-part plan to improve its game and make it more entertaining for fans. The most controversial changes were for 2027 when the field would be shortened by 10 yards (to a length of 100 yards), endzones by five yards (to 15 yards) and goalposts would move to the back of the reconfigured end zones.

Johnston believes moving the goalposts will result in more touchdowns scored. Philpot, of Delta, B.C., and entering his fifth season as a receiver with the Calgary Stampeders, initially balked at the changes but has since softened his stance.

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“I wasn’t too happy in the beginning because I grew up with the Canadian game, I grew up a fan of it,” Philpot said recently. “I’m not too fond of change but I do agree there is a better place for the goalposts and I think you could open up the offence, for sure.

“There’ve been instances where we’ve hit the goalposts in the middle of the field for wide-open touchdowns and there’s nothing worse. It’s hard to tell if it will improve the game but at the end of the day you want it to be exciting and I think whatever we can do to go in that direction is good.”

Philpot, 25, is coming off his most productive CFL campaign. The six-foot, 190-pound receiver had 61 catches for a career-best 830 yards with three touchdowns.

More importantly, Calgary (11-7) finished third in the West Division to return to the CFL playoffs. However, the Stampeders’ season ended with a 33-30 semifinal loss to the B.C. Lions.

Calgary has reached the playoffs in three of Philpot’s four CFL seasons but has failed to earn a post-season victory. The franchise hasn’t won the Grey Cup since 2018.

With Calgary hosting the ’26 CFL championship, this season would be an ideal time for the Stampeders to reverse those fortunes.

“At the end of the day, wins and championships are what you’re remembered for,” Philpot said. “I go into every season expecting to be in that final game and it’s definitely enticing this year, for sure, with the Grey Cup being in Calgary.”

Despite last year’s milestone, Philpot feels he has plenty of room for improvement.

“I can get better in my route-running and ability to see the field,” he said. “The thing about Vernon (Calgary quarterback Vernon Adams Jr.) is he knows where he’s going pre-snap so if you can be in that right spot at the right time, that’s what he’s looking for.

“It’s a whole timing thing that just comes with comfortability. The way I feel now going into this season is super comfortable, I’ve made the plays so now it’s just go out and be consistent.”

Calgary boasted the CFL’s top rushing attack last season, Adams’s first with the club. Dedrick Mills ran for a league-best 1,409 yards and finished tied for tops in rushing TDs (11) as the Stampeders averaged a league-leading 126.7 yards on the ground per game.

Adams still threw for 4,247 yards with 21 TDs and 14 interceptions but Dominique Rhymes -- Calgary’s leading receiver last year with 50 catches for 886 yards and six TDs -- has retired and Canadian Damien Alford (CFL-best 20.4-yard average per catch last year) is with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints. However, veteran Reggie Begelton is expected back after missing most of 2025 with a knee injury.

Still, many pre-season prognosticators have low expectations of Calgary this season. Philpot is anxious to do his part to prove the doubters wrong.

“I think just with the extra motivation of us getting ranked low again and the Grey Cup being in Calgary, we’re going to be a forced to be reckoned with right out of the gate,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2026.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press