Products You May Like
The music has stopped. Seats have been taken.
Or at least many of them have, anyway.
With lots of signatures now on newly completed contracts, we can start to take stock of what’s going on in CFL free agency 2025.
Here are 10 takeaways from free agency so far, one with a league-wide flavour to it and then one for each of the CFL’s nine teams.
RELATED
» CFL.ca’s top 30 pending free agents list
» A team-by-team look at 2025 CFL Free Agency
» Grading every team’s free agency so far
» REDBLACKS, Eugene Lewis agree to two-year contract
» Tiger-Cats sign receiver Kenny Lawler to two-year deal
» Elks sign Ford, Ceresna, Beard, Smith, Brinkman
» Who’s Still Available?: 2025 free agent tracker
» More 2025 Free Agency news and notes
» Subscribe to the CFL’s newsletter for exclusive offers and league updates
» Subscribe to the CFL’s official YouTube channel
ACTUALLY, BY THE TIME THE MUSIC STOPPED A FAIR NUMBER HADN’T GOTTEN UP FROM THEIR CHAIR IN THE FIRST PLACE
It’s not that we haven’t seen a big number of free agents move on to new teams, as per usual.
It’s just that the great migration of top tier players may not be exactly what you imagine it to be, not this off-season anyway.
While stars like receivers Eugene Lewis and Kenny Lawler found new deals with new teams, an awful lot of highly-valued players stayed put.
On CFL.ca’s list of the top 30 possible free agents, 22 wound up extending or re-signing with the teams they were with in 2024, including nine of the top ten.
That one outlier is defensive back Tyrell Ford, leaving Winnipeg for Edmonton. Other ‘top-tenners’ like Elks quarterback Tre Ford, Ottawa receiver Justin Hardy, BC receiver Justin McInnis, Toronto linebacker Wynton McManis, Argos’ returner Janarion Grant, Winnipeg defensive end Willie Jefferson, BC defensive lineman Mathieu Betts, Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris and Edmonton offensive lineman Martez Ivey all wound up staying home.
Every CFL team extended or re-signed at least one of their players who were on the Top 30 list, with the exception of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who had one ranked pending free agent in offensive lineman David Beard. He is now an Elk.
TORONTO ARGONAUTS: ALL UNQUIET ON THE DEFENSIVE FRONT
The reigning champs have some defensive work to do again as they prepare for the 2025 season.
Seven of the team’s 12 defensive starters from last year’s Grey Cup game are gone, including the entirety of the defensive line as well as starting safety Royce Metchie (Edmonton) and halfback DaShaun Amos (Hamilton).
Not that Toronto hasn’t added defensive talent, like linebacker Cameron Judge, defensive backs Ciante Evans (BC) and Will Sunderland (Hamilton) and lineman Anthony Lanier II (Saskatchewan). It’s just that championship cohesion will have to be built up once again.
Good thing they kept the ultimate glue guy – linebacker Wynton McManis – in double blue.
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS: WE HAVE ALL THE BIG SCREEN TELEVISIONS WE NEED, SO WE’LL BE OVER HERE
While the mob was fighting it out for some big-ticket items, the Blue Bombers were glancing over at them from across the store while nosing through sections the others hadn’t gotten to yet.
Receivers Reggie White Jr. (Montreal) and Jerreth Sterns (Saskatchewan). Back-up quarterback Shea Patterson (Saskatchewan). Earlier this winter, they’d signed receiver Dillon Mitchell (released by Edmonton) and defensive lineman James Vaughters (released by Calgary).
And what’s this? Peyton Logan somehow left on a shelf in the kick returners section?
Start the car.
MONTREAL ALOUETTES: NAH, WE’RE GOOD. WELL, MAYBE I’LL JUST HOP IN AND GRAB A THING OR TWO
Defensive lineman Shawn Oakman agreed to a deal with the Alouettes in free agency (GoElks.com)
The Alouettes had most everything they needed already in-house when it came to stars already under contract and pending FAs extended or re-signed.
So they signed offensive lineman Cyrille Hogan-Saindon (Ottawa) and National defensive lineman Joshua Archibald (BC).
And then, sure why not? Nab giant interior defensive lineman Shawn Oakman (Edmonton) for the heck of it.
Nothing like a splurge purchase at the checkout, right?
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS: MAN THE BARRICADES. BUT ALSO BUST THEM DOWN
The Riders added offensive lineman Sean McEwen as a free agent (Brett Holmes/CFL.ca)
The Roughriders loaded up the defensive line a wee bit and look to have nicely fortified the O-line as well.
They extended defensive tackle Micah Johnson and defensive end Malik Carney and added a couple of free agent disruptors in Mike Rose (released by Calgary) and Shane Ray (formerly an Argo, back from the
NFL).
On the offensive line, while losing Peter Godber to Ottawa, and tackle Trevor Reid (NFL) they snagged a couple of top-shelf QB protectors in centre Sean McEwen (Calgary) and Philippe Gagnon (Montreal).
It’s all about winning on the line of scrimmage, some say. At least a portion of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ free agency strategy says they are buying into that theory.
OTTAWA REDBLACKS: PRIMARY CONCERN? SECONDARY CONCERNS
Okay, everyone on the 2024 REDBLACKS knew that the team was happy with taking one step forward. Not so fast, defensive backs.
Ottawa’s free agency sweep brings in a lot of new DBs, including Nafees Lyon (Montreal), Amari Henderson (Saskatchewan), Robert Priester and Tunde Adeleke (Toronto).
And on the other side of the equation, they let Damon Webb hit free agency and he signed in Calgary.
Ottawa’s biggest one-time splash in the FA pool was receiver Eugene Lewis. But they reserved a bunch of other, smaller cannonballs in order to remake the back end pass defence.
BC LIONS: WE KEPT YOUR ROOM JUST EXACTLY AS YOU LEFT IT
After extending a slew of guys they wanted to keep, like Mathieu Betts, Justin McInnis and Garry Peters, the Lions didn’t exactly shy away from new guys (OL Dejon Allen, DL DeWayne Hendrix), but they have leaned on reunions with some players who’ve been in Vancouver before.
Hamilton released running back James Butler and the Lions leaped at the chance to bring back the man who’d left in free agency two years ago.
They signed linebacker Micah Awe (Calgary) who will begin his fourth stint with the team since breaking in with the Lions in 2017.
Also returning to play once again in BC are offensive lineman David Foucault (Edmonton) and linebacker Adam Konar.
Make yourself at home, gentlemen, I believe you know where everything is.
EDMONTON ELKS: C’MON IN, YOU’LL HARDLY RECOGNIZE THE PLACE
Ever see that British show called “The Repair Shop”?
It’s amazing. People bring in a wide range of family heirlooms, all of them in a state of brutal disrepair. The team of incredibly gifted tradespeople will go off and work on those beyond-help items and somehow bring them back to near-mint if not mint condition, revealing their wizardry to an always awestruck – and often teary – recipient.
The list of Edmonton signees this free agency season is kinda bonkers. Major upgrades all over the place. Defensive back Tyrell Ford (Winnipeg). Defensive linemen Jake Ceresna, Jared Brinkman and Robbie Smith (all from Toronto). Defensive back Royce Metchie (Toronto). Receiver Kaion Julien-Grant (Montreal). On and on it goes.
General Manager Ed Hervey should cover the new-look Elks with a giant blanket and invite Elks’ fans in for the reveal. He’d pull off that blanket with a great flourish and say “Is THIS how you remember your team looking back in the day?”
HAMILTON TICATS: SCRAMBLE THE FIGHTER JETS
Hamilton’s already strong air attack gets stronger.
With receiver Kenny Lawler signed away from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell has one more primo target to look for in 2025, added to the likes of Tim White and 2024 Most Outstanding Rookie Shemar Bridges, as well as the recently re-signed/extended Brendan O’Leary-Orange and Kiondre Smith. Right, they signed former Bomber receiver Drew Wolitarsky too. Release the hounds!
Gon’ be a jumpball-track meet over there in Steeltown.
CALGARY STAMPEDERS: ALL UNQUIET ON THE DEFENSIVE FRONT, PART DEUX
LB Derrick Moncrief was signed by Calgary in free agency (Leah Hennel/CFL.ca)
The Stamps will have lots of new faces on defence in 2025 after first trading Judge to Toronto for defensive lineman Folarin Orimolade and then releasing defensive linemen Mike Rose and James Vaughters.
In free agency they’ve brought in linebackers Derrick Moncrief (Edmonton) and Fraser Sopik (Toronto) as well as defensive lineman Miles Brown (Saskatchewan) and one of the bigger defensive prizes of free agency, 2024 All-CFL defensive back Damon Webb (Ottawa).
The Stamps started to shake up the offence in trading for quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., last November. The defence, too, will get its share of shaking in 2025.