DAY 4 CFL FREE AGENCY RECAP
CALGARY – The Calgary Stampeders signed veteran American linebacker Micah Awe on Friday.
The six-foot, 221-pound Awe had 47 tackles, four special-teams tackles, an interception and forced fumble in 13 regular-season games with the Montreal Alouettes and one with the B.C. Lions in 2022.
Awe has appeared in 63 career regular-season games with B.C., (2017-18, 2021), the Toronto Argonauts (2019), Ottawa Redblacks (2021) and Montreal (2022). He has registered 250 tackles, 31 special-teams tackles, four sacks, two interceptions and five forced fumbles.
OTTAWA – The Ottawa Redblacks signed veteran Canadian receiver Lemar Durant to a one-year contract Friday.
Durant, 30, had 12 catches for 112 yards and a TD in 11 regular-season games with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last season.
The six-foot-two, 218-pound Vancouver native, has appeared in 85 career regular-season CFL contests with Calgary, B.C. and Hamilton, registering 195 receptions for 2,465 yards with 14 touchdowns.
Durant won a Grey Cup with Calgary in 2018. He was named the top Canadian in the Stampeders’ 27-16 victory over Ottawa.
The Redblacks also re-signed American defensive back Sherrod Baltimore to a one-year deal. The 30-year-old Baltimore has spent his entire five-year CFL career with Ottawa, registering 22 tackles and eight pass knockdowns in 13 games last season.
CALGARY – The Calgary Stampeders signed veteran American linebacker Micah Awe on Friday.
The six-foot, 221-pound Awe had 47 tackles, four special-teams tackles, an interception and forced fumble in 13 regular-season games with the Montreal Alouettes and one with the B.C. Lions in 2022.
Awe has appeared in 63 career regular-season games with B.C., (2017-18, 2021), the Toronto Argonauts (2019), Ottawa Redblacks (2021) and Montreal (2022). He has registered 250 tackles, 31 special-teams tackles, four sacks, two interceptions and five forced fumbles.
REGINA – The Saskatchewan Roughriders signed global defensive end Valentin Gnahoua on Friday.
The six-foot-two, 235-pound Gnahoua spent the last three seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who selected him with the first pick of the ’19 European draft.
Gnahoua, of Le Mans, France, appeared in 38 games, registering one tackle, 11 special-teams tackles, a forced fumble and blocked punt.
Before coming to Canada, Gnahoua, 28, spent two seasons (2017-18) with the Berlin Rebels of the German Football League. He had 47 tackles and nine sacks in 13 games.
WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Blue Bombers agreed to terms with American receiver Rasheed Bailey on a one-year contract Friday.
The six-foot-one, 211-pound Bailey became a free agent Tuesday and returns for a fourth season with Winnipeg.
Bailey started 18 regular-season games last season as well as the West Division final and Grey Cup game. He registered 63 catches for 729 yards and nine touchdowns.
Over his time with the Bombers, Bailey has played in 37 regular-season contests, recording 134 receptions for 1,564 yards and 14 TDs.
MONTREAL – Ciante Evans is back with the Montreal Alouettes.
Evans, 30, signed a one-year deal with Montreal on Friday. He spent the ’19 season with the Alouettes before playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2021-22.
The five-foot-11, 195-pound Evans had 26 tackles and an interception in 13 regular-season games last year with Hamilton.
Evans has appeared in 87 career CFL regular-season games with Calgary (2015-2018), Montreal and Hamilton. A 2017 CFL all-star, Evans has 225 tackles, 14 interceptions and three forced fumbles.
“We are bringing back an excellent player to our team,” Montreal GM Danny Maciocia said in a statement. “Ciante is also familiar with Noel Thorpe’s defence, which will allow us to solidify our secondary even more.”
HAMILTON – The Hamilton Tiger-Cats signed veteran American defensive back Chris Edwards on Friday.
The 30-year-old started 13 games last season for the Grey Cup-champion Toronto Argonauts, registering 37 tackles (three tackles for loss), two interceptions, two touchdowns and a forced fumble.
Edwards is entering his sixth CFL season, having spent time with the Argos (2021-22), B.C. Lions (2019) and Edmonton (2017-18).
The six-foot-two, 217-pound Edwards has registered 195 total tackles, four sacks, nine interceptions, five TDs and five forced fumbles. He was a CFL all-star in 2021.
CALGARY – Three days after the start of CFL free agency, veteran American defensive lineman Shawn Lemon remains on the open market.
And that’s definitely surprising given what the Calgary Stampeder did in 2022. The six-foot-one, 242-pound Lemon led the West Division in sacks (14 to tie a career high) and was second in the CFL behind Ottawa’s Lorenzo Mauldin IV (17 sacks).
Lemon and Mauldin were named the West and East Division’s top defensive players and CFL all-stars. But Mauldin got the nod as the league’s outstanding defensive performer.
Lemon is a well-travelled CFL player, having suited up for five different teams. He’s played for Saskatchewan (2011, 2016), Calgary (2013-15, 2021-22), Toronto (2016-18, 2019) and B.C. (2018, 2019) on separate occasions as well as Edmonton (2012).
Lemon has been part of two Grey Cup-winning teams (Calgary in 2014, Toronto in 2017).
But even at age 34, Lemon showed no signs of slowing down last season. The veteran player appeared in 17 of 18 regular-season games in 2022, registering a career high 29 tackles with five forced tackles.
Lemon established his career-high in sacks in 2016 with Toronto. But over the last two seasons, Lemon has 22 sacks in 28 regular-season contests and 70 over the last seven CFL seasons.
He has recorded double-digit sacks in a season four times.
(Canadian Press/Photo: CFL.ca)
