The CFL season is right around the corner now. With the season less than two months away, there is certainly plenty to talk about around the league. We narrowed down the list to the most notable stories around the league, including the Hamilton Tiger-Cats locking up their veteran defensive end long-term and the optimism in the Toronto Argonauts locker room following the addition of Marc Trestman as head coach.
Here is a look at the top CFL news and notes for this week.
Ticats Extend Veteran DE Chick
The Tiger-Cats extended veteran defensive end John Chick with a contract that will last through the 2018 season. Hamilton signed Chick before last season after he was cut by the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The 34-year-old registered 14 sacks, which was tied for the second-most in the CFL last season, along with 40 tackles. Chick earned CFL All-Star honors and was named the team’s nominee for the Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2016.
Argos Ray Optimistic Under Trestman
The Argonauts are coming off an awful season in which injuries and inconsistency really hurt the team. However, there is definitely reason for optimism in Toronto this year based in large part on their new head coach. Marc Trestman has wasted little time changing the overall attitude in Toronto after he was hired by the franchise just a couple of months ago. Quarterback Ricky Ray has been particularly vocal about the direction of the franchise. Ray told reporters this week that, “I’ve seen a lot of things happen in the CFL throughout my career. I’ve seen teams turn it around very quickly year to year, so everything’s possible.” It will certainly be very interesting to see what Trestman has in store, and how quickly the Argonauts are able to turn things around.
Argonauts Sign Former Ticats DB Vaughn
Argonauts GM Jim Popp continued his busy offseason with the addition of former Ticats DB Cassius Vaughan. Vaughan, who has several years of NFL experience, played nine games for Hamilton in 2016 after he was signed at midseason. The 29-year-old had 26 tackles. The Argonauts also signed defensive back Davonte Neal and Canadian receiver Jimmy Ralph as they continued their offseason rebuild.
Riders Sign Safety Edem To Extension
The Saskatchewan Roughriders signed Canadian safety Mike Edem to a contract extension that will keep him with the team through the 2018 season. The Riders recently acquired Edem and a conditional selection in the 2018 CFL Draft from the BC Lions for a conditional 2018 pick. The 27-year-old Edem has started 33 regular season games in his career. Edem has registered 91 tackles, 29 special-teams tackles, six interceptions and five sacks in his career. The veteran safety was a 2013 East Division All-Star and Montreal’s nominee as outstanding rookie that year. Saskatchewan will hope that Edem can help their secondary perform at a higher level than they did last season as they look to become a contender in the West Division in 2017.
Stampeders Add Stanzi To Roster
The Calgary Stampeders have added another quarterback to the roster. Former Iowa Hawkeyes signal caller Ricky Stanzi will get a shot with the team during the rookie camp to see whether he sticks or not. Stanzi had played for Iowa and led them to a couple of good seasons from 2007-2010. He had led them to an undefeated start to their 2009 campaign before the team faded. They were 9-0 heading into a game against Northwestern but was injured. After that, the Hawkeyes season went astray. He had opportunities with six different NFL teams but he never lasted. Overall, he was 26-9 as a starter for Iowa, throwing for 25 touchdowns and six interceptions.
The Stamps released Nick Arbuckle in a coinciding move. They also signed running backs Jacobi Green and Terry Williams. Green had tried out with the Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers last season, but couldn’t make the final cuts. He had a fairly productive college career, piling up 28 touchdowns and 2,969 rushing yards in his time at the University of Richmond.
CFL rookie camps will begin on May 24th with regular training camps starting just four days later.
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