As the Hamilton Tiger-Cats prepare to enter the free agency period on Tuesday, February 13th, it is clear that they are committed to upgrading their defensive line. Earlier this week, the Tiger-Cats agreed to terms with Toronto Argonauts pending free agent defensive lineman Brandon Barlow and Dwayne Hendrix. The Tiger-Cats are adding Barlow and Hendrix to improve their pass rush. Additionally, there have been rumors that Hamilton is one of two teams, the other being the BC Lions, that may become the destination of free-agent sack master Mathieu Betts.

According to the CFL Transactions list, defensive tackle Casey Sayles has agreed to restructure his contract with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. With free agency looming, Sayles most likely decided to restructure his contract to allow Hamilton to create more salary cap space and flexibility to pursue their free agent targets. The motivation for the Tiger-Cats to create cap space could be to improve their effort to entice Betts to come to Hamilton, or it could also be to increase their ability to offer wide receiver Tim White an offer that will keep the CFL All-Star receiver in Hamilton.

Regardless of the Tiger-Cat’s motivation for restructuring Sayles’s contract, the result is that Hamilton has secured the services of their 2023 sack leader. During the 2023 season, Sayles played in 17 games for the Tiger-Cats and registered 50 defensive tackles and seven quarterback sacks. Sayles received his first selection as a 2023 CFL All-Star due to his outstanding efforts.

The 6’4″, 282-pound Sayles came to Hamilton after spending the 2021 and 2022 CFL seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. During his 3-year CFL career, Sayles has played in 49 games, with 114 defensive tackles and 18 quarterback sacks. Before coming to the CFL, Sayles played for the Saint Louis Battlehawks during the 2020 XFL season; in 2019, he played for Birmingham in the AAF; in 2017 and 2018, he spent time with the Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers.

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