The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are experiencing deja vu as they prepare for their Labour Day matchup against the Toronto Argonauts. The Tiger-Cats started the 2025 season by losing their first two games against the Calgary Stampeders and the Saskatchewan Roughriders. In Week 3, the Tiger-Cats had their first bye week, which allowed the Tiger-Cats coaching staff time to make adjustments, leading to a six-game winning streak.
With that start in mind, the past has repeated itself over the last three weeks. After the 0-2 start to the CFL season, Hamilton came off their bye week and won six straight games. Those wins allowed the Tiger-Cats to pull ahead of the Montreal Alouettes and take control of the East division.
Unfortunately, three weeks ago, that process repeated itself when the BC Lions upset the Tiger-Cats in Hamilton, snapping their win streak. The next week, the Tiger-Cats faced the Saskatchewan Roughriders and once again tasted the bitter pill of defeat while losing 29 to 9 against the Roughriders.
However, after losing to the Roughriders, the Tiger-Cats once again had another bye week, and, similar to Week 3, they have used this time to reinforce their depth chart. During the bye week, the Tiger-Cats executed a trade with the Toronto Argonauts that sent National long snapper Simon Chaves while receiving a 7th round draft pick. This week, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats have continued to move players to find answers to their weaknesses, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
In addition to moving Chaves last week, the Tiger-Cats have used this week to invest in improving their defensive front seven. According to the CFL Transactions list and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats X account, the Tiger-Cats have signed American linebacker Braxton Hill, and they have also moved National defensive lineman Ty Anderson to the practice roster.
Linebacker Braxton Hill comes to Hamilton after spending the last two seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. During his time in Saskatchewan, Hill spent all of his time on the Roughriders’ practice roster and did not get a chance to see any time on the field. Hill will be a good fit for a defensive front that has shown improvement in 2025, but is still not a finished product.
Before coming to the CFL, the 6’2″, 225-pound Hill played college football at the University of Montana from 2019 until 2023. The Anaconda, Montana native played in 51 total games for the Grizzlies. While at Montana, Hill recorded 231 total tackles, including 76 solo tackles, 17 tackles for loss, nine quarterback sacks, eight pass deflections, two fumble recoveries, and two interceptions.
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