After the Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated the Ottawa Redblacks in overtime in week 18 on October 21, 2016, the Argonauts were eliminated from the playoffs while they were playing in the second quarter against the Calgary Stampeders.

[3] [4] [4][5][6] The team was led at quarterback by Ricky Ray, who had three statistically brilliant seasons between 2012 and 2014, earning eastern Most Outstanding Player nominations in the latter two years.

Following the departure of Trevor Harris to the Ottawa RedBlacks in early 2016, the backup QB situation was a bit of a revolving door; with Logan Kilgore, Dan LeFevour, Cody Fajardo, and Drew Willy all taking snaps under centre.

[9] On the defensive side of the ball, following last season's departure of star defensive linemen Cleyon Laing and Tristan Okpalaugo to the NFL's Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals respectively, the Argos were able to secure the services of Justin Hickman and Bryan Hall from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, as well as trade OL Matt Sewell and QB Mitchell Gale to the Saskatchewan Roughriders for DE Shawn Lemon and a conditional 2018 draft pick.

[10] Lemon seemed to fit into Defensive Coordinator Rich Stubler's system well, as he finished with 14 sacks (career high) in 16 games and earned his first East Division All-Star nomination.