Ferguson: 5 potential landing spots for Eugene Lewis

Marshall Ferguson

CFL.ca

@TSN_Marsh

As we begin 2025, the CFL’s pending free agent list is still deep and varied with plenty of marquee names potentially up for grabs.

As I updated my personal tracker this week, a couple of names of influence jumped out to me and none more than Eugene Lewis.

You know, the 2022 East Division Most Outstanding Player nominee and the guy who ended last year in Edmonton with an eight-game touchdown streak. That streak remains active into this season by the way. If Lewis has a major in his first active game this summer, he’ll pass Milt Stegall into second on the all-time touchdown streak list and will sit just one behind Calgary’s Terry Evanshen, who set the mark in 1967-1968.

All of which makes you wonder where will Geno go and which offence will he trust to help him set the impressive double season standard?

Records aside, Geno has been a mainstay of CFL highlight reels since he entered the great northern game and shows no signs of slowing down, which makes him one of the most attractive prospective signings this winter.

Here’s my top five potential destinations for Lewis as we sit a month out from the frenzy.

5. MONTREAL ALOUETTES

Never say never to a homecoming. While I don’t see it happening in reality, this is based on imagining what a more mature and experienced Tyson Philpot would look like paired with Lewis at the top of his powers back in front of a fan base who adores him.

Plus, it never hurts to get a new quarterback (Davis Alexander) some jump ball help. Oh, and that McLeod Bethel-Thompson guy who threw Lewis a bunch of touchdowns last season should also be in the mix if things go according to Montreal’s preferred script.

4. WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS

Just as I never count out a homecoming, I also never doubt the Grey Cup host’s willingness to go above and beyond with their wallets nine months before the big show rolls into town.

Kenny Lawler, Dalton Schoen and Eugene Lewis paired with Brady Oliveira, who is coming off an MOP season? It doesn’t make much financial sense, but it does tug at the heart strings of Bombers fans who, it feels like, have one, maybe two, great shots left in the Zach Collaros era to get it done.

Could the Bombers losing three-straight championship games result in a home run swing to the tune of Geno?

3. HAMILTON TIGER-CATS

Tim White has continued his exceptional CFL career through quarterback changes and scheme alterations, Shemar Bridges looks to be the real deal, and Bo Levi Mitchell is coming off a monster campaign.

Could Lewis get Hamilton over the top in one score games this season and open an entirely new dimension to Scott Milanovich’s passing game?

If I were to bet one team willing to take on the financial burden in the East, it likely isn’t Hamilton with new general manager Ted Goveia at the controls, but a statement-making signing or two is likely to come.

2. EDMONTON ELKS

Lewis finished the season on an all-time heater reaching the end zone and the new ownership won’t be shy to keep major names to build the brand locally with faces the casual fan can get excited about. Tre Ford is as exciting a quarterback as there is in the CFL while Cody Fajardo’s deep ball acumen raised significantly in Montreal early last year.

All of these are enticing elements of the pitch to keep Lewis. The question now becomes if they’re powerful enough to keep him from heading a few hours South.

1. CALGARY STAMPEDERS

The affinity Vernon Adams Jr. and Eugene Lewis have for each other is well known. Why wouldn’t they when the mutual respect and skill level are both off the charts?

With VA getting moved to Calgary from BC this off-season, my gut reaction at seeing Lewis’ pending free agent status was this is exactly the bold move Dave Dickenson needs to make to generate energy in the building after a lacklustre 2024.

Calgary has already said they will be more active than the past in free agency, which fits the bill and is a correct reading of the room in many people’s estimation. After Lewis (Edmonton) and VA (BC) posted a jersey swap on December 10, you have to wonder if they’ll both be saying goodbye to those threads in 2025 to reunite in red.

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