Hello, tempus. You’re just gonna keep right on ‘fugiting,’ eh? The Grey Cup is already a week and a half in the rearview? Slow your roll, tempus, lemme catch my breath a bit.
No sense fighting it. Before you know it tempus will have ‘fugited’ all the way to mid-February, so here are five takeaways from the release of the 2025 CFL free agency list.
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» O’Leary: Each team’s top pending free agent
NO SHORTAGE OF HEAD-TOPPERS
The 2025 pending free agency class is just incredibly bloated with spectacular receiving talent, and the parade is led by a bevy of pass catchers who can win jump-ball battles and make mid-air magic with gymnastic body adjustments.
BC’s Justin McInnis topped the charts in 2024, leading the league with 1,469 receiving yards and he had 10 catches of more than 30 yards, 26 of more than 20. Those were also league-best numbers. Edmonton’s Eugene Lewis caught fire in the second half of the season to top the thousand-yard mark and he led the CFL with 10 receiving touchdowns.
Hamilton’s Steven Dunbar quietly stacked up 1,159 yards in 2024, to finish fourth overall.
And imagine this: I haven’t even gotten to Toronto’s Damonte Coxie and Winnipeg’s Kenny Lawler, both of whom have a propensity for pulling down passes they have no business catching.
And, oh yeah. Ottawa’s Justin Hardy is a potential FA too. All he did last season was lead the league in receptions (97) and 100-yard games (eight).
If your team is looking for a game-breaking receiver, this class is loaded.
BONUS TAKEAWAY: How’s Dalton Schoen’s knee rehab coming? The Winnipeg star, who missed the balance of the 2024 season after being injured in Week 3, is also on a lapsing contract.
NEED A TECTONIC SHIFT? YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET THAT
Say, friend, is your team tired? Rundown? Listless? Do they poop out at parties?
Don’t despair, just go out and get Wynton McManis.
The Grey Cup champions Toronto Argonauts’ spiritual leader and linebacker extraordinaire would be top of the list for any team in need of a kick to the keister when it comes to its competitive culture.
But wait! There’s more!
The 30-year-old has also been offering search-and-destroy playmaking ability to back up his words for years now. And that’s not all, folks.
He can play middle or weak side with equal aplomb.
Now how much would you pay?
If the Argos make him an offer he can’t refuse and McManis forgoes the market, there are others of his ilk that might be available.
Notably, there is Winnipeg’s ageless superman, defensive end Willie Jefferson, coming off one of the best games of his entire career (six tackles, two sacks, an interception and a forced fumble), in the 111th Grey Cup.
Then there’s Saskatchewan linebacker Jameer Thurman who, like McManis, can patrol the WILL or MIKE positions with equal amounts of excellence and is also known as a leader of men.
CALL A PLUMBER THERE ARE PIPE-BUSTERS EVERYWHERE
If your favourite team is in need of a player or two who can apply pressure to the opponent’s quarterback, the defensive lineman aisle will potentially be very well stocked come February.
BC’s marauding Mathieu Betts, the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player (MODP) in 2023, and Ottawa’s Lorenzo Mauldin IV, who won that same award a year earlier, are both potential free agents. And both are, shall we say, problematic edge rushers who give offensive tackles fits.
There’s Toronto’s interior muckraker, defensive tackle Jake Ceresna, who gets credit for being a catalyst on an Argos’ defensive line that became the scourge of the CFL as the 2024 season advanced, and his linemates – Robbie Smith and Jared Brinkman – are possible free agents as well.
Ceresna and Mauldin were tied at the top of the CFL’s sacks list this past season, each with eight. Mauldin’s teammate, tackle Michael Wakefield, had eight as well and he is also scheduled to become a free agent this winter.
I mentioned Winnipeg’s Willie Jefferson already and I’ll mention him again – in part because I love mentioning that his 10 pass knockdowns in
2024 ranked him fifth in the CFL and that he was the only player in the top 20 in that category who was not a defensive back.
Others who could possibly be on the move – each with a history of being pretty good at disruption – include Edmonton’s Shawn Oakman, Montreal’s Avery Ellis, BC’s Pete Robertson, Ottawa’s Bryce Carter, and Saskatchewan’s Malik Carney, Anthony Lanier II and Bryan Cox (six sacks last season).
BONUS TAKEAWAY: Saskatchewan’s Micah Johnson will turn 37 next year and Winnipeg’s Jake Thomas will be 34, but both of these potential free agents still have the ability to upend apple carts in the interior.
HIM? OH, I’D TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT HIM, ALRIGHT
One name stands out a little bit more for me when it comes to 2025 free agency.
James Butler.
I like guys who might feel they have something to prove. Or have just a bit of a bad taste in their mouth. Especially when they’ve already established themselves. Like William Stanback, this year, in BC.
For whatever reason, Butler fell out of favour with the Hamilton Ticats in year one of Scott Milanovich’s head coaching reign, taking a seat while the ‘Cats went with Greg Bell at the running back position. That happened despite Butler having rushed for 1,116 yards in 2023, and catching passes for 527 more yards.
Sure, he’ll be 30 years old in February but guess what? That ain’t particularly old for a running back anymore is it? And when you consider his relative lack of action in 2024 (11 games, 110 rushes), that should mean his body is just that little bit less banged up.
A back that good with a fire in his belly? Intriguing.
IN THE MIDST OF THIEVES
There’s lots of interceptions and fumble recoveries in the numbers for potential free agents. So if it’s a thief you want, the selection is good.
Four of the top six taker-away-ers are defensive backs who could be free agents in February.
Toronto halfback DaShaun Amos pulled down a beauty of a pick in the 111th Grey Cup and in the regular season that preceded it, the Argos’ MODP had five more interceptions to go along with two fumble recoveries, placing him one turnover behind the league leader, Rolan Milligan. Don’t get all frothy, CFL teams, Milligan’s under contract for next season with Saskatchewan.
Other potential FAs with a need to steal are: Winnipeg corner Tyrell Ford (seven interceptions), Saskatchewan corner Marcus Sayles (six takeaways including four interceptions), and Edmonton free safety Loucheiz Purifoy (five interceptions and one fumble recovery).
Just behind Purifoy, a number of defenders tied with five takeaways (Hey! That’s my fave number of takeaways!) including Calgary corner Tre Roberson and Ottawa halfback Damon Webb. They, too, are quite possibly available when free agency opens.
The best way to keep these guys from picking your pocket? Hire ‘em to pick somebody else’s.
AND FINALLY… Looking for a battering ram to bolster your short-yardage fortunes? Calgary’s Tommy Stevens and Hamilton’s Ante Milanovic-Litre are on the list.