Steve Milton: Always two sides to the free agency coin
Since this is where they'll be playing, it's probably best to look at the ones the Hamilton Tiger-Cats did manage to keep. There are a few they didn't, and we'll get to them, too.
During Tuesday's wild opening serve of free agency which may or may not have shifted some balances of power in the CFL - it's still four months until anyone plays a game that matters - the Ticats announced they'd signed two more of their established defensive starters who were eligible to seek employment with another team.
Canadian defensive tackle Ted Laurent, a Ticat since 2014 as the immovable force in the middle will be back for another season despite widespread speculation he'd be elsewhere. And versatile Jumal Rolle, who stepped up to replace the then-retired Delvin Breaux at boundary cornerback to deservedly make his first CFL all-star team, also agreed to return to Hamilton. (Breaux, who unretired recently, was signed by the B.C. Lions. Tuesday.)
They're one-year deals and no money terms were released. Yet.
Late in the day they also brought back free agent Richard Leonard from the Calgary Stampeders, another starting defensive back, who'd been a Ticat from 2017-19 and a CFL all-star.
If you count ball-hawking defensive halfback Ciante Evans, who is listed on the Ticats' official roster although his signing hasn't been announced, that suddenly makes 10 starters, nine of them returnees, to a defence which provided the drumbeat to the Ticats' late-season march into the hometown Grey Cup game. Three defensive linemen, two linebackers, and five defensive backs.
The temptation is to call it 11 defensive starters with reports, accurate ones, that Saskatchewan Roughriders' defensive tackle Micah Johnson, a serious handful, has agreed to terms with Hamilton. But, as of publication time, that deal hadn't been officially announced.
Johnson, who will turn 34 shortly into the 2022 season, plays on the interior of the line where the 34-year-old Laurent also lives, and so does Dylan Wynn.
Johnson, who had a pair of sacks last year and 47 in his long career which began in Calgary, is still a formidable force and the Ticats will be very tough up the middle.
But the fourth member of last year's Front Four, tone setter Ja'Gared Davis, is gone as the entire league knew he would be. The Ticats couldn't afford to pay everyone, and he'd command the most. So, he's now a Toronto Argonaut, which makes their pass rush, already pretty good, better.
Davis is different, and more recently proven, than a slew of ultimately underachievers the Argos signed last year. But, let's not forget that the Argos finished first in the East before the game they'd love to forget, when Ja'Gared Evans and Dane Evans led Hamilton's second-half comeback into the Grey Cup.
The only surprise might be that Davis didn't end up in the Tiger-Cats' new Rideau Canal bureau, where longtime Ticats exec Shawn Burke, the Ottawa Redblacks GM, hasn't wasted any time making a good first impression. Ottawa comes to Tim Hortons Field on July 16 and they'll bring some very familiar faces with them.
The Ticats weren't signing Jeremiah Masoli back, released him Friday and the Redblacks inked him for two years on Monday. The quarterback, eight years a Ticat, said Tuesday his strong relationship with Burke was a major factor in choosing Ottawa.
Masoli, in turn, brings instant legitimacy to an Ottawa offence which was of historically awful proportions but has now become free agent Catnip. Receiver Jaelon Acklin and centre Darius Ciraco are now both Redblacks and Ticat Nation won't need reminding that both had been key Hamilton starters. All-purpose running back Jackson Bennett left Hamilton for Ottawa too, as did defensive lineman Lorenzo Mauldin IV, who will likely start.
And Burke supplied Masoli with free agent receiver Darvin Adams from the Blue Bombers and 1,000-yard rusher William Powell from Saskatchewan. He's added lots more, including Canadian defensive end Kwaku Boateng, whom the Ticats likely had interest in.
The East gets interesting with the apparent sudden improvement in Ottawa and the Argos making another big splash in signing Andrew Harris away from his hometown Bombers. The Alouettes have been fairly quiet so far but did bring in linebacker Tyrice Beverette who was the No. 1 backup linebacker with, guess who, the Ticats, of course.
The Ticats also lost receiver Jalin Marshall to Edmonton, although he would have been hard-pressed to make the roster here. As of publication time Ticat legend Brandon Banks hadn't signed with a new team.
Edmonton, under new football boss Chris Jones, made a number of acquisitions to make the biggest splash in the West, including Canadian receiver Kenny Lawler.
Turning back to the Ticats, Laurent's return means a lot less pressure to start six Canadians on offence and only safety Tunde Adeleke on defence. They'll still have times when Laurent rests and need a second Canadian on defence, but strong rookie seasons by end Mason Bennett and defensive back Stavros Katsantonis eases some of those concerns.
Steve Milton is a Hamilton-based sports columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: smilton@thespec.com