CFL Free Agency Update

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced Monday that the football club has re-signed international wide receiver Luke Tasker to a two-year contract. Tasker was eligible to become a free agent tomorrow at 12 p.m. (noon).

“Luke is a leader in our locker room and has developed into one of the best receivers in the Canadian Football League,” said June Jones, Head Coach of the Tiger-Cats. “He’s got an outstanding skill set, and his unselfish play and toughness are exactly the kind of attributes that we want to personify in the football team. It was important to have him back and we’re thrilled to have him continue to call Hamilton home as the only franchise in his professional football career.”

Tasker, 27, registered career highs in games played (18), receptions (104), receiving yards (1,167) and receiving touchdowns (7) in 2017. He set a Tiger-Cats’ franchise record for receptions in a single season with 104 (Fantuz – 101 in 2016), and led the CFL after Labour Day in targets (tie-87) and receptions (tie-59), was third in touchdown receptions (tie-5), and fourth in receiving yards (728). Overall, the native of Buffalo, New York, ranked second in the league last season in receiving targets (154), tied for second in receptions, was sixth in receiving yards and tied for sixth in receiving touchdowns.

Over his five-year CFL career in Hamilton (2013-17), Tasker has accumulated 341 receptions for 4,224 yards and 24 receiving touchdowns, ranking eighth, 11th and 13th, respectively, among all-time franchise leaders in each category. The Cornell University product has also made two Grey Cup appearances with the Tiger-Cats (2013, 2014) and is a three-time East Division All-Star (2014, 2015, 2017).

(Hamilton Tiger-Cats)

---

The Montreal Alouettes have confirmed the return of John Bowman for the 2018 season. The one who leads the team's bag list with 121 and who ranks eighth all-time in the CFL will again have the opportunity to inflate his statistics.

Bowman (6'3 ", 250 lbs.)  joined the Montreal squad in 2006, will play a 13th season with the Alouettes and the CFL. The 35-year-old defensive end led the team in 2017 with nine sacks, good for third place in the CFL. The nine sacks cost the opposition 73 yards a league high. He also put pressure on the quarter 27 times in addition to collecting 36 defensive tackles.

" We are pleased to know that we will be seeing John on the field in 2018. Throughout his career, John has been a leader, both in the locker room and on the field ," said Alouettes GM Kavis Reed . He will be one of our leaders in defense and I am sure he will help our players maximize their potential. John has established himself as a Montrealer and we are very happy that he has the opportunity to play again in front of the best fans of the CFL. "

In his first 12 seasons, he has had seven of 10 sacks or more and has had at least 30 defensive tackles on eight occasions. He has also been an artisan at the 2009 and 2010 Alouettes Gray Cup Championships .

The athlete from Brooklyn, NY, was a member of the All-Star All-Star Team no less than seven times and was named twice to the CFL All-Star Team. 2010 and 2016. In 2017, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the NCAA South Atlantic Conference.

In 200 career games, the former Bulldogs of Wingate University have started 194 times and amassed 403 defensive tackles.

(Montreal Alouettes) 

---

The BC Lions Football Club today announced that international quarterback Travis Lulay has signed a contract with the team for the 2018 season.

Lulay enters his 10th CFL season and has appeared in 128 career games for the Lions throwing for 18,858 yards (third all-time in team history) with 114 touchdowns. Last year in Hamilton, he entered an early season game following an injury to starter Jon Jennings and torched the Ticats for 436 passing yards and three touchdowns in a record-setting performance for a quarterback appearing in relief.

“Travis is an important part of our team,” said head coach Wally Buono. “We saw last season that, when called upon, he can still be one of the very best quarterbacks in our league. He is a tremendous leader and we are very pleased to have him back in 2018.”

(BC Lions Football Club)

---

The Ottawa REDBLACKS have shuffled their depth chart at quarterback, announcing Monday they’ve released Drew Tate and added Dominique Davis.

Tate was added via trade with Calgary during the 2017 off-season, serving as Trevor Harris‘ primary backup last season. He started one game when Harris went down with an injured throwing shoulder, finishing his season with 338 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Davis was the backup to Matt Nichols last year, but was released by the Bombers last week. The 28-year-old veteran threw for 208 yards on 17-of-29 passing in relief of the Bombers’ starter in 2017.

The moves are expected to open up competition in camp for the backup quarterback position. Harris holds the top spot going into his third season with the REDBLACKS, while Davis could compete with Ryan Lindley for the second-string job.

For Tate, Monday’s transaction means an uncertain future going into what would be his 10th CFL season. The 33-year-old has thrown for more than 5,000 passing yards with 35 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in his time with Ottawa and Calgary.

(Ottawa REDBLACKS)