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Free Agency February 14, 2025

6 free agency matches made in heaven

CFL.ca

CFL.ca
@mcauz56

It’s time for my annual Valentine’s Day themed CFL free agency column where I focus on some of my favourite love connections between free agents and their new teams.

This is where I throw out the warnings about this day. For many people, Valentine’s Day can be a difficult experience.

As I am not an expert on mental health, nor do I hold any medical degrees (science is hard!), I may not be the best equipped to give anyone profound advice on this day, so let me go the football route and just say this for anyone looking to find a partner.

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As I write this, players like Ryan Sceviour, Landon Rice and Julian Howsare are still free agents looking for a team to love them.

We’re talking about recent All-CFLers, multiple Grey Cup champions and productive Canadians. Any of these individuals would be a significant addition to any CFL team looking to bolster their offensive or defensive line.

Just a reminder that finding that right someone can take some time.

Moving on, here are six recent signings that feel like the start of a beautiful friendship.

TYRELL FORD AND THE EDMONTON ELKS

Let’s start with the obvious layup of free agency.

From a purely football standpoint, this transaction is a perfect fit. The Elks were dead last in three critical defensive categories; total yards allowed, yards allowed per play, and touchdown passes allowed.

For all the fireworks and excitement we saw from Edmonton’s offence in 2024, it was too often undone by a defence that couldn’t get stops. Elks defensive coordinator J.C. Sherritt must be doing backflips with his shiny new 26-year-old All-CFL cornerback who can make life difficult for opposing No. 1 receivers.

From a human-interest side, who isn’t excited about the brotherly love angle? I’ve written about it before but find me a cooler football hypothetical than a Tyrell Ford interception leading to a short field for Tre Ford who promptly throws a touchdown pass.

I’m going out on a limb to say we have never seen two brothers playing for the same Canadian team where both can end the year on an All-CFL team.

SEAN MCEWEN AND THE SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS

The Roughriders’ bounce-back from two-straight losing seasons to a winning year in 2024 that also including a post-season victory is all the more remarkable when you consider all the injuries on the offensive line.

There is a reason Corey Mace’s squad was sixth in rushing and a big part was that this unit was so decimated that it led to defensive tackle Micah Johnson play guard in Week 13 against the Lions after injuries to key linemen Peter Godber and Zach Fry.

Sean McEwen is a three-time All-CFL award winner who has 132 regular season games under his belt and appeared in 17 games for a Calgary squad that gave up the second fewest sacks. His presence at centre allows Saskatchewan’s best lineman, Logan Ferland, to switch back to his natural guard position.

As an added bonus at 31 years of age, McEwen has a better chance to get any cultural or pop culture references from Trevor Harris.

TEVIN JONES AND THE CALGARY STAMPEDERS

Listen, I understand the addition of 1,000-yard receiver Dominique Rhymes will get more attention as the Stampeders look to surround Vernon Adams Jr. with as many weapons as possible.

However, I am a strong believer every dangerous passing attack needs at least one player who can take the top off of a defence and who is a threat to score no matter where the offence is lined up on the field.

No player was a better deep threat target than Jones, who led the league with 18.3 yards per catch and finished the year with 731 yards on just 40 receptions.

Calgary is familiar with his work as last year Jones put up a season-high 208 yards and two touchdowns against the Stampeders’ secondary. Adams Jr. is going from one impressive receiver unit with the Lions to an emerging one in Calgary.

JEREMIAH MASOLI AND THE BC LIONS

Just like I love a good romcom (‘Love Actually’ is still the best) I am also a sucker for a good comeback story.

I recognize that I’ve written far too many words about a player who hasn’t even hit double digit starts in his last three years in the league, but I can’t quit Jeremiah Masoli. Not yet.

In a perfect world for the Lions, Masoli will rarely see the field, but that doesn’t mean this is a bad match. Far from it.

After backing up Dru Brown last year with the Ottawa REDBLACKS, Masoli is an ideal candidate in a similar role with Nathan Rourke. Masoli represents a perfect sounding board for Rourke, who has experienced the highest of highs during his debut in 2022 but also plenty of uncertainty with injuries that season and a shaky return to the West Coast this past year. Jeremiah has seen it all and is a true leader.

Finally, this partnership makes sense as the other quarterbacks on the roster have a combined 22 career pass attempts. The Lions are in win now mode, so a veteran backup quarterback is essential.

DASHAUN AMOS AND THE HAMILTON TIGER-CATS

I wanted to limit my ‘Captain Obvious’ picks to a minimum but how could I leave DaShaun Amos off my list?

DaShaun has a knack for playing on Grey Cup-winning teams having won the championship three times since 2018, including last year against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The individual accolades are there with two Divisional All-CFL team appearances including this past year with Toronto on the strength of his 25 tackle and five interception season.

Like Edmonton in the West, no team needed an infusion of elite defensive talent like the Tiger-Cats. When you already have Bo Levi Mitchell, Tim White who has averaged over 1,200 yards in his last three years, super rookie Shemar Bridges and new addition Kenny Lawler on the roster, adding some players who can have a similar impact on defence is never a bad thing.

The biggest priority in 2025 for Hamilton’s management team is to ensure the offence doesn’t feel the pressure to score 30+ points every week. Amos is a great step in this direction.

CELESTIN HABA AND THE TORONTO ARGONAUTS

Let’s end with my favourite sneaky pickup.

On first glance there is nothing that jumps off the page with the former Bombers defensive end. Five sacks in 18 games over two seasons doesn’t scream ‘look out East Division quarterbacks’, but Celestin Haba is one of those players who always catch my attention.

I wish I could give you fancy statistics about pass rush win rate, but in a limited number of games he has shown plenty of flashes of superior pass rush ability. At 25 years of age, his best years are ahead of him and at six-foot-two and 250 pounds, he has that prototypical defensive end body.

This is a ‘betting on upside’ signing, but considering the team lost Jared Brinkman, Jake Ceresna and Ralph Holley, Haba is a gamble worth taking.

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