The 2021 BC Lions season was the 63rd season for the team in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and their 67th overall. The Lions failed to improve upon their 5–13 record from 2019 and were eliminated from playoff qualification on November 12, 2021, following a week 15 loss to the Calgary Stampeders.

The 2021 CFL season was the first season with Rick Campbell as the team's head coach. Campbell will also perform general manager duties alongside co-general manager Neil McEvoy following the resignation of former general manager Ed Hervey.

The Lions held their training camp at Hillside Stadium in Kamloops, British Columbia for the 11th consecutive season.

An 18-game season schedule was originally released on November 20, 2020, but it was announced on April 21, 2021 that the start of the season would likely be delayed until August and feature a 14-game schedule. On June 15, 2021, the league released the revised 14-game schedule with regular season play beginning on August 5, 2021.

Offseason

General manager On October 16, 2020, the team's general manager, Ed Hervey, announced his resignation for personal reasons. There had been speculation that his departure from the organization was related to the grievance filed by starting quarterback Mike Reilly who was guaranteed $250,000 in 2020, despite the season being cancelled. However, this was never confirmed and the Lions eventually reached an agreement to re-structure Reilly's contract.

On December 7, 2020, it was announced that head coach Rick Campbell and director of football operations Neil McEvoy were promoted to co-general managers.

CFL global draft The 2021 CFL global draft took place on April 15, 2021. The Lions won the draft lottery and selected first overall. With the format being a snake draft, the Lions selected first in the odd-numbered rounds and last in the even-numbered rounds.

Round Pick Player Position University/Club Team Nationality 1 1 Jake Ford P Ouachita Baptist Australia 2 18 Bo Qiao Li DL Charleston China 3 19 Takeru Yamasaki K Elecom Kobe Finies Japan 4 36 Niklas Gustav DL Morningside Germany

CFL national draft The 2021 CFL draft took place on May 4, 2021. The Lions had five selections in the six-round snake draft and had the fourth pick in odd rounds and the sixth pick in even rounds. The team traded its fourth-round selection to the Toronto Argonauts after trading Davon Coleman in exchange for Shawn Lemon.

Round Pick Player Position School Hometown 1 4 Daniel Joseph DL North Carolina State Toronto, ON 2 15 Alaric Jackson OL Iowa Windsor, ON 3 22 Ben Hladik LB British Columbia Vernon, BC 5 40 Alfred Green DL Wilfrid Laurier Ajax, ON 6 51 Tyler Packer OL Calgary Calgary, AB

Preseason Due to the shortening of the season, the CFL confirmed that pre-season games would not be played in 2021.

Planned schedule Week Game Date Kickoff Opponent TV Venue A 1 Sun, May 23 1:30 p.m. PDT at Calgary Stampeders McMahon Stadium B Bye C 2 Fri, June 4 7:00 p.m. PDT vs. Edmonton Elks BC Place

Regular season

Standings

Schedule The Lions initially had a schedule that featured 18 regular season games beginning on June 12 and ending on October 29. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the Canadian Football League delayed the start of the regular season to August 5, 2021 and the Lions will begin their 14-game season on August 6, 2021.

Week Game Date Kickoff Opponent Results TV Venue Attendance Summary Score Record 11 Fri, Aug 6 6:30 p.m. PDT @ Saskatchewan Roughriders L 29–33 0–1 TSN Mosaic Stadium 33,350 Recap 22 Thurs, Aug 12 6:30 p.m. PDT @ Calgary Stampeders W 15–9 1–1 TSN/RDS2 McMahon Stadium 21,029 Recap 33 Thurs, Aug 19 7:00 p.m. PDT Edmonton Elks L 16–21 1–2 TSN/ESPN2 BC Place 12,500 Recap 44 Sat, Aug 28 4:00 p.m. PDT @ Ottawa Redblacks W 24–12 2–2 TSN/RDS TD Place Stadium 15,000 Recap 5 Bye 65 Sat, Sept 11 7:00 p.m. PDT Ottawa Redblacks W 45–13 3–2 TSN/RDS BC Place 12,552 Recap 76 Sat, Sept 18 4:00 p.m. PDT @ Montreal Alouettes W 27–18 4–2 TSN/RDS Molson Stadium 13,591 Recap 87 Fri, Sept 24 7:30 p.m. PDT Saskatchewan Roughriders L 24–31 4–3 TSN/ESPN2 BC Place 12,500 Recap 98 Fri, Oct 1 7:00 p.m. PDT Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 9–30 4–4 TSN/ESPNews BC Place 12,500 Recap 10 Bye 119 Sat, Oct 16 4:00 p.m. PDT Calgary Stampeders L 10–39 4–5 TSN BC Place 12,500 Recap 1210 Sat, Oct 23 4:00 p.m. PDT @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 0–45 4–6 TSN IG Field 23,750 Recap 1311 Sat, Oct 30 1:00 p.m. PDT @ Toronto Argonauts L 29–31 4–7 TSN BMO Field 9,011 Recap 1412 Fri, Nov 5 4:00 p.m. PDT @ Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 18–26 4–8 TSN/RDS Tim Hortons Field 21,618 Recap 1513 Fri, Nov 12 7:30 p.m. PST Calgary Stampeders L 23–33 4–9 TSN BC Place 12,500 Recap 1614 Fri, Nov 19 7:30 p.m. PST Edmonton Elks W 43–10 5–9 TSN BC Place 12,500 Recap

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

Roster 2021 BC Lions final roster Quarterbacks

Running backs

Receivers

Offensive linemen G C T/G T C/G T G

Defensive linemen DT DE DT DE DE DE DT DT Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams LS P K

Practice roster K WR P T K DT DB Injured list T WR DB T DB T RB QB DE

Suspended DE DT DE WR Italics indicate American player • Bold indicates Global player

Coaching staff BC Lions staff Front office and support staff Owner – Amar Doman President and ceo – Rick LeLacheur Vice President, Business – George Chayka General managers – Rick Campbell and Neil McEvoy Director of football operations – Neil McEvoy Director of us scouting – Ryan Rigmaiden Director of canadian scouting & cfl draft coordinator – Rob Ralph Director of global scouting and us regional scout – Geroy Simon Video coordinator – Andrew Millin Head athletic therapist – Tristan Sandhu Equipment manager – Aaron Yeung Head coaches Head coach – Rick Campbell

Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Jordan Maksymic Receivers – Jason Tucker Running backs – Danny O'Brien Offensive line – Kelly Bates Offensive assistant – Trysten Dyce

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Rick Campbell Defensive line – Vacant Linebackers – Travis Brown Defensive backs – Ryan Phillips Defensive assistant – Claudell Louis

Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Don Yanowsky

→ Coaching staff

References

External links