OTTAWA — The Ottawa REDBLACKS announced on Monday they have signed four players, including Global linebacker Heston Lameta, National running back Jared Chisari, American receiver Ryan McDaniel and American running back T.J. Hammonds.
The REDBLACKS’ second-round, 11th overall pick in the 2024 CFL Global Draft, Lameta suited up in 31 games over four seasons with Northern Arizona, starting all 11 in 2023. The soon-to-be 26-year-old racked up 56 total tackles, 16 solo tackles, a tackle for a loss, and a forced fumble, including a career-high 13 tackles against Portland State, this past season.
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Chisari, 23, spent the last two seasons at Queen’s, rushing 260 times for 2,023 yards and 12 touchdowns, along with four catches for 44 yards, in 18 total games. He played at UMass from 2020-2021, and in his final year, rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries through 10 games. Chisari suited up at Bowdoin College from 2018-2019.
Most recently suiting up for the Memphis Showboats of the USFL in 2023, McDaniel spent minicamp with both the Kansas City Chiefs, and Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022, earning an invite to Jaguars’ training camp. He played 33 college games for North Carolina Central from 2018-2021, catching 106 passes for 1,206 yards, and eight touchdowns, while also rushing five times for 24 yards, and returning eight kicks for 122 yards. McDaniel also spent time at Tulsa, where he contributed on special teams, with seven tackles and a blocked kick.
Hammonds, 26, spent the 2023 season with the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons, where he rushed 32 times for 167 yards and a touchdown, in eight games. The Little Rock native appeared in 46 games for his home state school of Arkansas, recording 543 yards and two touchdowns on 80 carries, to go with 13 catches for 221 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Hammonds has also featured in the return game, racking up 77 yards on four kick returns.
Ottawa also announced that they have released American receiver Maurice Ffrench and American defensive lineman Vandarius Cowan.