5 things to Know for 2025: Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Don Landry

CFL.ca

@CFLLandry

The first thing you need to know about the Hamilton Tiger-Cats is something you might well be aware of and that is that this is a team that absolutely must get off to a good start in 2025.

Oh-and-five, the ‘Cats were, to start 2024. Oh-and-three in ’23. and Oh-and-four in 2022.

In order to shake the slow starts, the Ticats have made a number of changes for the coming season, and with that in mind, here are five things to know about them as training camp gets into full swing.

THE RECEIVING CORPS LOOKS LIKE A NIGHTMARE

Is quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell constantly smiling these days?

Good reason for that. Not only did the veteran turn his fortunes around after a dismal first half of the 2024 season, ending up as the East nominee for Most Outstanding Player, the receiving corps he has to play with in 2025 is even better.

On paper, at least.

In signing free agent receiver Kenny Lawler, the Ticats get a proven dominator to add to a stable of receivers that enjoyed quite a prosperous season in 2024, including second-year man Shemar Bridges, who would have had a 1,000-yard rookie season (he wound up with 933) had he not missed the final three games of the year with a quad injury.

And with another proven dominator in Tim White (1,164 yards in 2024) back for another year, the Ticats have a trio of game-breaking stars who will give their opponents fits and open up some room for the rest of the pass-catchers in what is a deep and talented group.

DIFFERENCE MAKERS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE DEFENCE

The Hamilton defence left much to be desired for much of 2024, and steps have been taken to remedy the problems the unit had in getting off the field on a regular basis.

To shore things up, the team landed a couple of bona fide defensive studs in free agency, signing ex-Argo halfback DaShaun Amos and ex-Montreal SAM Reggie Stubblefield to bolster the group.

Amos, a key but underrated backfield piece for Toronto in the three seasons he spent there, will shore up the deep pass defence while Stubblefield gives the Ticats an offence-wrecker at the all important cover linebacker position, provided he is fine after missing almost all of last season with a knee injury.

Late in the free agency game, in April, the Ticats signed former Calgary veteran Branden Dozier who, like Stubblefield, can play backfield or SAM so Hamilton has great flexibility there.

Moving up to the line, the Ticats signed defensive end Julian Howsare to a free agent deal, bringing the quarterback-hunter back to Hamilton after two seasons with the Stampeders.

THE DEFENCE GETS A NEW CONDUCTOR

As mentioned, the Hamilton defence was not really the fear-inducing scourge they’d like to have been last season, although there were improvements made when Chris Jones arrived as the senior defensive consultant at the midway mark of the campaign.

However, Jones and the club parted ways at the end of the year, and the longtime CFL coach landed a job as an assistant with the University of North Carolina.

Enter Brent Monson, who’d spent a decade and a half in the Calgary Stampeders’ organization, the last six years as the team’s defensive coordinator.

As Hamilton’s new DC, it will be up to Monson to continue the building that Jones started midway through last season.

To do that, he will look to form a crew that takes the ball away on a consistent basis, something he admits his Calgary defences did not do enough of under his watch the last two seasons.

“In Calgary, we didn’t create enough turnovers the last couple of years,” Monson told Ticats.ca, last December. “That is something that needs to happen here. You’ve got to have game-changing plays.”

PRETTY BIG HOLE TO FILL AT CENTRE

Offensive lineman David Beard had held down the all-important centre spot for the Ticats for the last two seasons. More than held it down, actually, as the veteran played all 36 regular season games in 2023 and 2024.

Last year, he was the All-CFL centre.

But Beard has gone back to Edmonton — he played the first seven seasons of his career there — as a free agent for 2025, meaning the Ticats need to fill the gap.

With Hamilton signing free agent guard Liam Dobson, the team has two top flight players for the positions flanking the centre (Brandon Revenberg being the other) and that means the team shift fifth-year man Coulter Woodmansey from guard to centre and they are expected to do just that, or at least give it a try.

But by no means is that move fait accompli.

“We’re gonna have competition at the centre position,” general manager Ted Goveia told Ticats.ca last February. “I think there’s a lot of guys capable of doing it, within the group.”

FROM BLUE AND GOLD TO BLACK AND GOLD

When the Ticats hired Goveia away from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to be their general manager, last December, it signalled a change that has led to an influx of players who have swapped blue for black as gold’s partner in the colour scheme.

Former Blue Bombers who are now Ticats include the aforementioned Lawler and Dobson but the list doesn’t come close to ending there.

Ex-Bomber receiver Drew Wolitarsky was signed by the Ticats during the off-season as well, and the team also added the likes of running backs Johnny Augustine and Chris Smith, linebacker Brian Cole II, receiver Josh Johnson and defensive linemen Miles Fox, TyJuan Garbutt, Owen Hubert and Kyle Samson, all members of the Blue Bombers in 2024.

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