MMQB: 5 interesting new faces for 2024

Pat Steinberg

CFL.ca

@Fan960Steinberg

It’s nice to have football back, hey?

Training camps are now well underway across the country and later this Monday the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers will open up the 2024 preseason. In fact, with four more games on Saturday, we’ll have gone through the first two weeks of the exhibition schedule when we reconvene for our next MMQB. It’s good to be back.

From AJ Ouellette to Demerio Houston, Jamal Peters, Dru Brown and Jake Ceresna, it’s been an off-season full of significant player movement. And as we get set for our first game action of 2024, here are five other interesting, perhaps under the radar, off-season additions.

Ka’Deem Carey: Running back, Toronto Argonauts

Due to injury, Carey was limited to just nine appearances in 2023. Citing a desire to go in a younger direction, the Calgary Stampeders opted to move on from the 31-year-old after four seasons. You can understand Calgary’s decision, especially with rising star Dedrick Mills coming off a breakout season.

It didn’t take long for Carey to find a new home. He signed with Toronto early in free agency and figures to be a key member of an offence that lost tailbacks AJ Ouellette (Saskatchewan) and Andrew Harris (retirement) over the winter. And let’s not forget: Carey is only a season removed from leading the league with 1,088 rushing yards, averaging 6.6 yards-per-carry in the process. Carey has something to prove and I always bet on that type of motivation.

Dewayne Hendrix: Defensive line, Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Led by the aforementioned Peters, we saw quite the migration down the QEW this winter. Don’t sleep on emerging defensive tackle Hendrix who, like Peters, left Toronto to sign with Hamilton in free agency. Still yet to turn 28, it feels like Hendrix has yet to realize just how much of an impact maker he can be in this league.

Hendrix joins the Tiger-Cats coming off a breakout season where he recorded six sacks and a forced fumble in 15 appearances. At six-foot-four and 270 pounds, Hendrix combines impressive athleticism with a ton of strength, which made him one of the CFL’s most imposing interior forces in 2023. Signed to a lucrative deal in free agency, Hendrix should be a key part of a Hamilton pass rush looking to take a big step forward.

Matthew Shiltz: Quarterback, Calgary Stampeders

Shiltz made the move from Hamilton to Calgary in the off-season, giving the Stamps some experience in their QB room (Stampeders.com)

Calgary’s quarterback situation could shape up to be a fascinating one in 2024. Jake Maier enters his second full season on top of the Stamps’ depth chart after showing promise as part of an up and down year one. Regardless of other factors, 27-year-old Maier was going to be looking for a step forward this season. Having Shiltz in the fold makes things that much more interesting.

Now 31, Shiltz has slowly gotten more and more playing time since entering the league with Montreal in 2017. Last season with the Ticats, Shiltz saw his most action yet and threw for 1,556 yards and seven touchdowns in seven appearances. He was also the quarterback tipped to start for Hamilton in the Eastern Semi-Final. If Maier doesn’t get off to a great start, the Stamps have an option they can pivot to quickly.

Dominque Rhymes: Receiver, Ottawa REDBLACKS

He’s back where it all started and much like Carey earlier, Rhymes is going to have a ton of motivation as he returns to Ottawa for the coming season. The dynamic receiver started his career with the REDBLACKS in 2017 before joining the BC Lions for the last three campaigns. After injuries limited Rhymes to just 10 games last year, and with a deep group of receivers and a salary cap to consider, the Lions opted to release Rhymes in January.

Five days later, Rhymes was back with Ottawa in a homecoming that made a lot of sense. In another Carey parallel, Rhymes is just a season removed from a dominant campaign where he tore apart defensive backfields to the tune of 1,401 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. At six-foot-four and 215 pounds, Rhymes has blazing speed and will be looked at as primary playmaker for the REDBLACKS in 2024.

Jermarcus Hardrick: Offensive lineman, Saskatchewan Roughriders

From Houston to Casey Sayles, Dru Brown and the since-returned Kenny Lawler, Winnipeg has gotten used to big name off-season departures in recent years. But seeing longtime right tackle Hardrick join the archrival Roughriders may have been the hardest one yet for Bombers fans to accept. Those who are partial to Saskatchewan, however, couldn’t be happier.

Improving the offensive line has been a key Riders priority over the last couple winters, and understandably so; they’ve allowed 131 sacks over the last two seasons. Things improved slightly last season and with the addition of Hardrick you can expect another step forward in 2024. Hardrick has been a key anchor on a Winnipeg offensive line that has allowed just 78 sacks combined the last three years.

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