The 2016 BC Lions season was the 59th season for the team in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and their 63rd overall. The Lions finished in second place in the West Division and finished with a 12–6 record. It was only the third time in franchise history that the Lions had finished in second place, and the first time they have done so since 1986. In each of those three years, the Lions hosted and defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West Semi-Final.

This was the team's second stint under now tenth-year head coach, Wally Buono, and his 14th season as the general manager. Buono took over the position following Jeff Tedford's resignation on December 2, 2015. The Lions improved upon their 7–11 record from 2015 and qualified for the playoffs for the 20th straight year, which is the second-longest streak in CFL history.Lions clinch playoff berth After winning the West Semi-Final against the Blue Bombers, the Lions lost to the Calgary Stampeders in the West Final.

For the seventh consecutive season, the Lions held their training camp at Hillside Stadium in Kamloops, British Columbia with rookie camp beginning Wednesday, May 25 and main camp beginning on Sunday, May 29.

Offseason Free agents Position Player 2016 Team Date Signed Notes WR Emmanuel Arceneaux BC Lions December 17, 2015 Two-year contract DB Steven Clarke BC Lions May 24, 2016 Signed with Titans before being released. LB Rennie Curran OL Kirby Fabien BC Lions December 15, 2015 Two-year contract DB Eric Fraser BC Lions December 18, 2015 Two-year contract RB Andrew Harris Winnipeg Blue Bombers February 9, 2016 LB Alex Hoffman-Ellis Hamilton Tiger-Cats February 9, 2016 DB Josh Johnson Jacksonville Jaguars February 12, 2016 RB Pascal Lochard Winnipeg Blue Bombers February 9, 2016 QB Travis Lulay BC Lions February 8, 2016 Two-year contract OL Matt Norman Retired OL Jovan Olafioye BC Lions January 14, 2016 Three-year contract DB Cord Parks Edmonton Eskimos May 26, 2016 RB Chris Rainey BC Lions February 9, 2016 DT Khreem Smith WR Courtney Taylor BC Lions August 9, 2016 OL Dean Valli Retired 2016 Free Agent Tracker

CFL draft The 2016 CFL draft took place on May 10, 2016. The Lions had eight picks in the draft, including two fourth round selections from Hamilton and the loss of their fifth round pick in a trade for Tim O'Neill.

Round Pick Player Position School/Club team 1 5 Charles Vaillancourt OL Laval 2 12 Anthony Thompson DB Southern Illinois 3 23 Brett Blaszko WR Calgary Dinos 4 30 Dillon Guy OL Buffalo 4 32 Shaquille Johnson WR Western Ontario 6 48 Brennan Van Nistelrooy DB Alberta 7 57 Nathan O'Halloran FB Windsor 8 65 Boyd Richardson DL British Columbia

Preseason

Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results TV Venue Attendance Summary Score RecordA Sat, June 11 6:00 p.m. PDT at Saskatchewan Roughriders W 28–16 1–0 TSN Mosaic Stadium 16,141 RecapB Fri, June 17 7:00 p.m. PDT vs. Calgary Stampeders L 21–31 1–1 None BC Place 17,630 Recap

Games played with colour uniforms.

Regular season Standings

Schedule Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results TV Venue Attendance Summary Score Record1 Sat, June 25 7:00 p.m. PDT vs. Calgary Stampeders W 20–18 1–0 TSN/RDS/ESPN2 BC Place 21,386 Recap2 Fri, July 1 4:00 p.m. PDT at Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 28–3 2–0 TSN/RDS Tim Hortons Field 24,123 Recap3 Thurs, July 7 7:00 p.m. PDT vs. Toronto Argonauts L 14–25 2–1 TSN/RDS2/ESPN2 BC Place 18,921 Recap4 Sat, July 16 4:00 p.m. PDT at Saskatchewan Roughriders W 40–27 3–1 TSN/RDS Mosaic Stadium 31,014 Recap 5 Bye6 Fri, July 29 7:00 p.m. PDT at Calgary Stampeders L 41–44 (OT) 3–2 TSN/RDS2/ESPN2 McMahon Stadium 27,651 Recap7 Thurs, Aug 4 4:00 p.m. PDT at Montreal Alouettes W 38–18 4–2 TSN/RDS/ESPN2 Molson Stadium 19,125 Recap8 Sat, Aug 13 7:00 p.m. PDT vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 45–38 5–2 TSN BC Place 21,213 Recap9 Fri, Aug 19 7:00 p.m. PDT vs. Calgary Stampeders L 9–37 5–3 TSN BC Place 21,341 Recap10 Thurs, Aug 25 4:30 p.m. PDT at Ottawa Redblacks W 29–23 6–3 TSN/RDS/ESPN2 TD Place Stadium 24,677 Recap11 Wed, Aug 31 4:30 p.m. PDT at Toronto Argonauts W 16–13 7–3 TSN BMO Field 17,509 Recap12 Fri, Sept 9 7:00 p.m. PDT vs. Montreal Alouettes W 38–27 8–3 TSN/RDS BC Place 18,107 Recap 13 Bye14 Fri, Sept 23 7:00 p.m. PDT at Edmonton Eskimos L 23–27 8–4 TSN/RDS2 Commonwealth Stadium 26,934 Recap15 Sat, Oct 1 7:00 p.m. PDT vs. Ottawa Redblacks W 40–33 9–4 TSN/RDS BC Place 19,703 Recap16 Sat, Oct 8 1:00 p.m. PDT at Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 35–37 9–5 TSN Investors Group Field 24,284 Recap17 Fri, Oct 14 7:00 p.m. PDT vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 32–35 9–6 TSN BC Place 19,520 Recap18 Sat, Oct 22 4:00 p.m. PDT vs. Edmonton Eskimos W 32–25 10–6 TSN BC Place 22,831 Recap19 Sat, Oct 29 4:00 p.m. PDT at Saskatchewan Roughriders W 24–6 11–6 TSN Mosaic Stadium 33,427 Recap20 Sat, Nov 5 4:00 p.m. PDT vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders W 41–18 12–6 TSN BC Place 26,481 Recap

Games played with colour uniforms. Games played with white uniforms.

Post-season Schedule Game Date Kickoff Opponent Results TV Venue Attendance Summary Score RecordWest Semi-Final Sun, Nov 13 1:30 p.m. PST vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 32–31 1–0 TSN/RDS/ESPN3 BC Place 19,176 RecapWest Final Sun, Nov 20 1:30 p.m. PST at Calgary Stampeders L 15–42 1–1 TSN/RDS/ESPN2 McMahon Stadium 32,115 Recap

Games played with colour uniforms. Games played with white uniforms.

Roster 2016 BC Lions final roster Quarterbacks

Running backs

Receivers

Offensive linemen G C T T G/C G G

Defensive linemen DE DT DT/DE DE/DT DE DT DT

Special teams LS K/P K Linebackers

Defensive backs

Practice roster DE WR LB RB DE WR WR FB T DT

Injured list DB G DB WR RB DB

Italics indicate American players Roster updated 2026-05-17 Depth Chart • Transactions

Coaching staff 2016 BC Lions staff Front office and support staff Owner – David Braley President and ceo – Dennis Skulsky General manager and vice president of football operations – Wally Buono Director of football operations & player personnel – Neil McEvoy Director of us scouting – Ryan Rigmaiden Player-Business Developmental Advisor – Geroy Simon Football Operations Consultant, Scout –Roy Shivers Area Scout –Mike McCarthy Video assistant – Andrew Millin Head Trainer – Bill Reichelt Assistant athletic therapist – Tristan Sandhu Strength and conditioning trainer – Chris Boyko Equipment manager – Ken "Kato" Kasuya Equipment assistant – Andrew Dubiellak Equipment assistant – Stu Mitchell Director of communications – Jamie Cartmell Head coaches Head coach – Wally Buono

Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks – Khari Jones Running backs – Adam Blasetti Receivers – Marcel Bellefeuille Offensive line – Dan Dorazio

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator and defensive backs – Mark Washington Defensive line – Robin Ross Linebackers – Chris Tormey

Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Marcello Simmons

Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning trainer – Chris Boyko

→ Coaching staff

References