There was much about the 2021 CFL season for McLeod Bethel-Thompson to like.
He firmly established himself as the Toronto Argonauts' No. 1 quarterback winning seven-of-nine starts and leading the franchise to a 9-5 record and first-place finish in the East Division standings. It marked the first time the club had finished atop the conference since 2017, which is also the last time the team won the Grey Cup.
Earlier this week, the 33-year-old American signed a one-year contract extension with Toronto rather than test the CFL free-agent waters Tuesday.
But how the '21 campaign ended continues to gnaw at Bethel-Thompson. Toronto's promising regular season ended with a 27-19 loss to the archrival Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Division final.
The loss came just three weeks after Toronto defeated Hamilton 31-12 at BMO Field to capture the four-game season series 3-1. What's more, the Argos took a 12-0 lead into halftime before Hamilton backup Dane Evans rallied the Ticats to their stirring comeback.
"It was a terrible way to end the season," Bethel-Thompson said during a telephone interview. "We felt like we'd just beaten a team soundly three weeks before and we came out in the first half and dominated.
"But we weren't championship calibre. They showed a resilience that they'd been there before and weathered the storm and came back and got us."
Bethel-Thompson completed 203-for-306 passes (66.3 per cent) for 2,303 yards with 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season. In 2019, he led the CFL in touchdown passes with 26.
But for the first time since coming to Toronto in 2017, Bethel-Thompson will enter training camp as the starter. It's a nice change for the well-travelled quarterback, who was with seven different teams (three times with San Francisco 49ers, twice with Miami Dolphins) spanning three leagues (Arena football, NFL and CFL) between 2011 and when he arrived in Toronto.
"I think the CFL has put me through the wringer," Bethel-Thompson said. "It has challenged me to build confidence from the inside out because it hasn't given me anything, and I don't think it should have.
"It has made me work every single year for every crumb I feel like I achieved and I'm very appreciative for that. I feel like I've built a lot of confidence, a lot of resiliency and I've earned the respect of my teammates, which is why I play the game. I've been given the keys and I've been working for four years to get those keys. Now, let's see how fast I can drive this car. It's exciting."
Also exciting for Bethel-Thompson is being a new father as he and his wife welcomed daughter, Aziza, into the world 13 months ago. Before deciding upon his football future, Bethel-Thompson had to first ensure his family considerations were taken care of.
"I'm a new father so I'm kind of making new decisions in a new realm," Bethel-Thompson said.
Bethel-Thompson has started 29-of-56 career games with Toronto. He has completed 738-of-1,104 passes (66.8 per cent) for 8,530 yards with 47 TDs and 34 interceptions. He has also rushed 58 times for 347 yards (six-yard average) and two TDs.
And for one of the few times in his pro career, Bethel-Thompson will return for a second season under the same head coach (sophomore Ryan Dinwiddie) and offensive scheme.
"That's a big relief," he said. "It's been a while since I haven't had to learn an offence, which will be different.
"It will provide different challenges for me to go from 1.0 to 2.0 to 3.0 and understand at a deeper level. (The CFL) is a different game, I wasn't taught it when I first got up there. Every year I feel like I get better … I'm excited to be my best self in 2022."
Bethel-Thompson said once it became clear he wasn't finished with football, returning to Toronto and continue playing for Argos GM Mike (Pinball) Clemons was a no-brainer.
"I don't think it would be appropriate for me to go anywhere else the way we finished last season," he said. "We built a lot of brotherhood in that locker room … if there was an chance it was definitely something I wanted to build on and take that next step.
"And Michael is a contagious person. You walk through airports in Canada, you walk down the streets of Canada and you mention Michael (Pinball) Clemons and everyone lights up. He's a special person and all organizations need to have that beacon, that belief and that person to rally around and we're very fortunate to have one who's also such a great human."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 2, 2022.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press
