5 under the radar pending free agent extensions

Matthew Cauz

CFL.ca

@mcauz56

This time of year, we are all guilty of dutifully tracking any and all free agency news, from shady gossip to legitimate reporting to actual transactions.

It’s fun. But the shady underbelly about a team signing a free agent is there’s a chance the ending with the players’ last team was less than amicable.

It happens all the time in the real world. A lawyer changes firms, or you and your partner break it off after it just isn’t working anymore. But there is a flip side to this transactional coin, what about the players that extend their contracts with their franchise? The ‘Player X has extended for two more years” caption doesn’t grab you as much as the star linebacker switching allegiances. I say that’s wrong. I want to create a safe space for stability and smart/steady team building.

I am going to rank my five favourite under the radar free agent extensions! My one rule on this list is the player cannot have made the Top-30 Pending Free Agent list that I look at way more than I care to admit. Also, except for one player the rest having never made an All-CFL team. This is a collection of players who are not dominating the headlines, but all are valuable contributors who could become an All-CFL sooner rather than later.

MCLEOD BETHEL-THOMPSON | QB | MONTREAL ALOUETTES

Let’s get the one player that I kind of cheated about. McLeod was an All-CFL a couple years back and he didn’t play for the Alouettes in 2024. I love this move for Montreal as Bethel-Thompson straddles the line of helping the team no matter his role and still has a strong self-belief in his own abilities perfectly.

The newest Alouette quarterback has plenty of experience as both a starter and a backup on team’s that were winning Grey Cups and ones near the bottom of the standings. I don’t want my quarterback to be 100 per cent happy as the back-up. Not only does that send a bad message to the rest of the team but his job is to push Davis Alexander to be the best quarterback the 26-year-old can be.

McLeod also went out of his way to the media that he signed with Montreal to do whatever it takes for the Alouttes to get back to the Grey Cup. I believe Bethel-Thompson has a couple more productive years in him. The winning wasn’t there in Edmonton, but I saw him make so many high degree of difficulty throws as he finished the year second in the league in passing yards despite splitting time with Tre Ford.

ZACK PELEHOS | OL | OTTAWA REDBLACKS

National OL Zack Pelehos was a great extension for the REDBLACKS, says Cauz (OttawaREDBLACKS.com)

This extension is not at all about PR or good vibes as Pelehos’ career started at the University of Ottawa, but it doesn’t hurt.

The team’s that win consistently in this league rely on strong scouting departments and patient player development. Think Brady Oliveira, Marc-Antoine Dequoy and Sam Emilus. Pelehos was drafted second overall back in 2022 and has steadily gotten better as a player.

Zack checks many boxes as he is the youngest offensive linemen for the REDBLACKS that started in the playoffs last year and having productive offensive tackles who are Canadian is always a recipe for long term success.

TARVARUS MCFADDEN | DB | TORONTO ARGONAUTS

McFadden has been part of the Argos last two championship runs (Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca)

Before we get into McFadden the player, I want to congratulate the Argonauts for engaging the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a spirited battle of who can stay out of the headlines the longest. With two Grey Cups in the last three years, it is difficult to criticize Toronto’s front office, but if you want to start bringing back some of your own stars now would be a fantastic time to get that started. McFadden represents the first player the team as extended.

The image of McFadden taking that lateral from Wynton McManis 78 yards for a touchdown against Ottawa sticks out, but McFadden has always been more than just a quiet producer for the Argos defence. A year ago, Toronto lost a number of All-CFL players so locking up a player with 42 career regular season games and has been on the field for those two Grey Cup championships is a solid signing.

TONY JONES | LB | WINNIPEG

LB Tony Jones solidified the middle of the Bombers defence in 2024 (Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca)

The Blue Bombers linebacker was one of those feel-good stories that makes it easy to be a football fan. Released by Edmonton during training camp Tony soon hooked up with Winnipeg and from Week 11 onwards was all over the field for Winnipeg’s defence.

At 29 years old it feels his best days are still ahead of him after finishing with a career high 49 tackles while registering his first interception off of Tre Ford in a Week 16 win over the Elks. Jones provides Winnipeg with positional versatility as he can start at multiple linebacker positions.

ALONZO ADDAE | DB | OTTAWA

DB Alonzo Addae (#20) has six interceptions over the last two seasons (Brett Holmes/CFL.ca)

We end this list off back at the capital with another Canadian returning to Ottawa.

Addae has plenty of range as evidenced by his six interceptions over the past two season. His numbers would have been even better if not for an injury robbing him of four games in 2024. Despite the missed time he still ended the year with 37 tackles, a career high during his three CFL seasons.

Years ago, the East Division had a quarterback problem, there just wasn’t enough consistent high-end talent slinging it. Those days have changed with Bo Levi Mitchell’s bounce back year, Chad Kelly in Toronto and Montreal is too smart to not know what they’re doing with Alexander. Loading up on defensive backs, especially talented national ones is a sound strategy.

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