[IMPORTANT: Make this 4 times longer with much more detail]
Jamie Nye CFL.ca @jamienye You can’t hit any home runs if you don’t swing for the fences. Or can you? Sometimes the simplest swing is the sweetest. RELATED » 10 sneaky good free agency signings » 5 impactful free agency signings » A team-by-team look at 2025 CFL Free Agency » 6 free agency matches made in heaven » 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 When it comes to this year’s CFL free agency, we’ve seen some big swings from clubs while other teams practiced a little more patient at the plate. If you know a thing or two about this on going baseball analogy, sometimes the biggest swingers will lead the way in strikeouts, while also leading the league in home runs. Here are the biggest swingers and those playing some small ball in CFL free agency. EDMONTON ELKS Key signings: Jake Ceresna , Tyrell Ford , Robbie Smith , Steven Dunbar Jr. , David Beard Tyrell Ford is now a member of the Edmonton Elks, joining his twin brother, quarterback Tre Ford (BlueBombers.com) There is no doubt which general manager was making the most moves hoping that 2025 comes back with a huge yield for the future of the Edmonton Elks. Four of the five players listed here were Divisional All-CFLers last year and Robbie Smith is becoming one of the most respected Canadian defensive linemen in the league. The Elks need to see these moves pay off or else Ed Hervey will be hanging his head back to the dugout. HAMILTON TIGER-CATS Key signings: Reggie Stubblefield , DaShaun Amos, Liam Dobson , Kenny Lawler Kenny Lawler signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats after being a free agent earlier this month (Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca) I have to give the Hamilton Tiger-Cats the next in line in the league at taking some big swings in free agency. Stubblefield is an All-CFL calibre player. Amos and Dobson were Divisional All-CFLers last season while Lawler is one of the best big-play receivers and a perennial All-CFLer in his own right but was injured in 2024. The Tiger-Cats were looking like they were starting to gain some big momentum with their current roster and now have added high quality athletes to take them to another level with Scott Milanovich fully implementing his new system. OTTAWA REDBLACKS Key signings: William Stanback , Tunde Adeleke , Peter Godber, Eugene Lewis Eugene Lewis returns to the East Division, signing with the Ottawa REDBLACKS during free agency (Dave Chidley/CFL.ca) Next in line comes the Ottawa REDBLACKS. Eugene Lewis needed a new scene to find the game he had with the Montreal Alouettes. He had flashes in Edmonton, but it wasn’t a great fit. With Dru Brown throwing the ball in Ottawa, they’re hoping Lewis becomes a league leader again. Stanback continues to be one of the most productive running backs in the league as he moves back to the East Division to solidify an Ottawa running attack that took on a revolving door after they moved on from Ryquell Armstead. Stanback is a veteran and a leader they’re hoping for. Meanwhile, Tunde Adeleke and Peter Godber are both solid Canadian depth to add to the defensive backfield and the middle of the offensive line. A lot of Roughriders credited Godber’s leadership to helping turn that offensive line around and the REDBLACKS are hoping for another step for the O-line in 2025. SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS Key signings: Sean McEwen , Mike Rose , Philippe Gagnon , Jake Maier Mike Rose collected six sacks and 19 tackles to go along with an interception and a touchdown in 2024 (Stampeders.com) While the Roughriders only signed a handful of players, they did sign some big names in free agency. Mike Rose was a release by the Stamps and that lead to the Riders bringing him on but there are two others listed here that are offensive linemen that bolster an improved group. McEwen was needed to replace the aforementioned Godber, which is a big win for the Roughriders, while Gagnon was needed with Philip Blake likely headed for retirement. Small moves also lead to some sneaky big swings by Jeremy O’Day. BC LIONS Key signings: Jeremiah Masoli , James Butler , Adam Auclair, Micah Awe After two seasons in Hamilton, James Butler is returning to the BC Lions, the team he started his CFL career with (Geoff Robins/CFL.ca) The BC Lions wanted to improve their linebacking corps and Micah Awe and Adam Auclair do just that. Awe is a top middle linebacker and the more opportunity Auclair gets, the more he does with it as he comes in to replace the retired Bo Lokombo. James Butler returns to the team that he truly got a shot to shine. The more speedy, elusive runner hopes to find his game after injuries and personnel decisions limited his opportunity in 2024 in Hamilton. While Jeremiah Masoli isn’t a big swing because he may not play, it’s still a big swing to improve the leadership around the team and the development of their No. 1 asset: Nathan Rourke. Now let’s get to the teams who may have tried to take a big swing but are left hoping that some of the quieter signings turn into some productivity that we’ll look back in a year and see it was a grand slam. TORONTO ARGONAUTS Key signings: Hergy Mayala , Ciante Evans , Anthony Lanier II Anthony Lanier II played for the Riders for four seasons and now heads to Toronto to join the Argonauts (Arthur Ward/CFL.ca) After winning a Grey Cup, you’re going to lose more than you sign so the Argonauts are hoping the more recognizable names that were signed return to their full potential in Double Blue. Anthony Lanier II turned into one of the highest paid defensive players in the league for a reason and if he enters 2025 healthy, he could make the Argonauts look like geniuses. CALGARY STAMPEDERS Key signings: Damon Webb , Fraser Sopik , Tevin Jones Tevin Jones hauled in 40 passes for 731 yards and five touchdowns in 2024 (CFL.ca) This was one of the most surprising things to come out free agency. I think everyone thought the Stampeders would be among the busiest, big swingers in the league. Instead, they locked up defensive back Damon Webb and some players who have shown flashes but aren’t All-CFL calibre. It’ll be interesting to see if some of the under the radar plays by Dave Dickenson will become players we talk about helping turn around the Stamps. Or we’ll be talking about Dickenson not being risky enough at the plate this off-season. WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS Key signings: Peyton Logan , Jerreth Sterns, Reggie White Jr. Reggie White Jr. joins the Bombers after spending three seasons in Montreal (Minas Panagiotakis/CFL.ca) Again, like the Argonauts, when you’re the successful organization going to five-straight Grey Cups, you’re waving goodbye to players like Kenny Lawler , Liam Dobson and Tyrell Ford . The Bombers are one of the best teams at finding the next man up or retaining great players. They’ll need a mix of both to pay off if they’re going to make it a sixth-straight West Division Championship. MONTREAL ALOUETTES Key signings: Cyrille Hogan-Saindon, Shawn Oakman, McLeod Bethel-Thompson Shawn Oakman tallied three sacks, an interception, a forced fumble, and 32 tackles in 2024 (Arthur Ward/CFL.ca) Hey, there is nothing to sneeze at with some of the bigger name signings for the Alouettes. Hogan-Saindon can start in this league for the next decade potentially and Shawn Oakman is the massive presence in the interior of the defensive line necessary to replace Almondo Sewell , who retired after 2023, and Derek Wiggan , who retired after this past season. As for McLeod Bethel-thompson, like Masoli, he is a great move to be a leader in a young quarterback room in Montreal after they moved on from Cody Fajardo. Get all the top stories from across the league delivered to your inbox.
