The Calgary Stampeders have signed American defensive lineman Hamilcar Rashed Jr.

Standing 6 foot 3 and weighing 256 pounds, the 26 year old is coming to the CFL for the first time. Since his college days at Oregon State Rashed spent time on the practice roster with the New York Jets, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Rashed made 28 starts and played 43 games in college. He finished his college career with 143 total tackles and is sixth all-time in Oregon State team history with 36 tackles for a loss and 16.5 sacks. He had four forced fumbles with one recovery and seven pass deflections. 2019 was his breakout season during which he earned All-Pac-12 First Team after setting a school record 22.5 tackles for loss while getting 14 sacks over 12 games.

The Veteran Presence

Calgary has had to revamp their defensive line this season with the departure of Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund and Derek Wiggan. Both signed with the Montreal Alouettes.

Adeyemi-Berglund spent the first three years of his career with the Stamps, getting 61 tackles and 14 sacks in 50 games played.

Born in Toronto, Wiggan made his CFL debut with the Stampeders in 2015. He played 133 games for the Stampeders and was part of the 2018 championship team. Wiggan has 166 total career tackles with 19 sacks three forced fumbles and an interception. In February Wiggan signed with Montreal.

CFL veteran Mike Rose will is entering his 7^th season with the Stampeders. Rose has been a major factor on the Calgary defence since 2019 when he got 50 tackles and 5 sacks. Last season he made 24 tackles and a career high 11 sacks bringing him to 30 career sacks.

Returning defensive lineman for the Stampeders is Julian Howsare who managed 49 tackles, six sacks and two forced fumbles last season. James Vaughters is also looking to step-up as a big impact player for Calgary after recording 5 sacks in 6 games last season.

Vaughters missed substantial game time last season due to injury. He and the Stampeders came to an agreement on a two-year contract extension in November, making him another of the many long-term Stampeders.

The Next Generation

Preseason will help determine who else will be joining him on the front line for Calgary’s defense. Filling the shoes of Adeyemi-Berglund and Wiggan will be no simple task but the Stampeders are optimistic. From the 2024 draft the Stampeders signed two Canadian defensive linemen George Idoko and Jason Janvier-Messier. Both 23 year olds are expected to play in this weekends preseason matchup when Calgary hosts the BC Lions.

Idoko recorded 43 total tackles and four sacks in his time playing for U-Sask. In 2023 he was selected as a Canada West All-Star. Janvier-Messier spent his college days playing for York University where he got 37 tackles and 5.5 sacks in just 12 games played between 2021 and 2022.