Argonauts sign trio of American defensive backs
TORONTO — The Toronto Argonauts have signed American DB J.T. Hassell, American DB Chris Moore and American DB Qwan’tez Stiggers, the team announced on Wednesday.
Hassell, 27, played four games for Winnipeg in 2022 after being signed by the club in September and tallied two special teams tackles. The five-foot-11, 200-pound defensive back was signed by the Cleveland Browns in 2019 and played four games for the Ohio team chipping in with seven tackles before a brief stint with New England and then the New York Jets in 2020, where he played three games.
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The Florida native began his collegiate career at South Dakota State where he started all 14 games for the Jackrabbits at linebacker, recording 41 tackles, four tackles for a loss, one sack, and one interception as a true freshman. Hassell played 12 games in his sophomore season tallying 21 tackles before a transfer to Florida Tech. At Tech, Hassell would compile 203 tackles, 18.5 for loss, 6.5 sacks, one interception, three forced fumbles, and one recovery in 23 games while being named conference Defensive Player of the Year and a Division II All-American.
Moore, 24, most recently spent time with the Baltimore Ravens after being signed by the NFL team as an undrafted free agent out of Georgia State. The six-foot, 210-pound defensive back played 22 games over two seasons at GSU (2020-2021) and made 104 tackles, 5.5 for loss, one sack, one interception, and one forced fumble. Prior to GSU, the Virginia native played three seasons (2016-2019) at the University of Virginia, playing in 23 games while tallying 97 tackles, four for loss, and one interception for the Cavaliers. Moore missed the 2018 season due to injury.
Stiggers, 20, played in the Fan Control Football League where he was the league’s youngest player but that did not stop him from leading the league in interceptions with five, including three in one game, while also adding 30 tackles. The six-foot, 197-pound defensive back was also a finalist for the league’s defensive player of the year award.
