The Tiger-Cats and General Manager Ted Goveia continue to raid the Winnipeg Blue Bombers roster. Earlier this week, the Tiger-Cats signed their seventh former Blue Bomber in the last several weeks, running back Chris Smith. Continuing the trend of loading up with Winnipeg players, the Tiger-Cats announced today that they have signed National running back Johnny Augustine.
Johnny Augustine joins the Hamilton Tiger-Cats roster after spending the first six seasons of his career in the CFL with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 2018 until 2024. During his time with the Blue Bombers, Augustine played in 93 games donning the Bomber blue, and from the 2022, 2023, and 2024 seasons, Augustine played in 18 games a year. Augustine was always a role player for the Bombers, giving Winnipeg a change of pace from Blue Bomber feature back Brady Oliveira.
While playing a part-time role for Winnipeg, Augustine has carried the football 222 times for Winnipeg, gaining 1,270 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. Augustine has also caught 17 passes for 169 receiving yards and one touchdown. During the 2024 season, Augustine had a dip in the production that Bombers fans had come to expect in 2022 and 2023 while only getting 27 carries for 135 yards, resulting in two rushing touchdowns and catching three passes for 39 yards.
Realistically, Augustine will be coming to Hamilton to take some of the run-game offense load off of running back Greg Bell. In addition to being a solid role player, Augustine should help the Tiger-Cats manage the ratio rule and have the flexibility to get Canadian players on the field. The 5’9, 200-pound Augustine coming to Hamilton marks his return home after playing U Sports football at the University of Guelph from 2013 until 2015.
Similar to the start of his CFL career, Augustine had a slow start while playing with the Gryphons. During the 2013 season, Augustine carried the ball 59 times for 393 yards and a touchdown. In 2014, Augustine only had nine carries for 35 yards and caught one pass for 22 yards. In his third year at Guelph in 2015, Augustine had a breakout season with 200 rushing attempts for 1,206 yards, scoring 14 rushing touchdowns and catching 19 passes for 276 yards and two receiving touchdowns.
Despite how much Augustine plays, he still has value as a leader in the locker room who can model the culture that he learned to be a part of while playing in Winnipeg. The best-case scenario for Augustine is that he can be a consistent change-up in the offensive backfield and provide quality depth for Hamilton’s running back position. Augustine comes to Hamilton with a wealth of Grey Cup championship experience, including five straight championship game appearances and two Grey Cup championship victories in 2019 and 2021.
Tiger-Cats Sign American wide receiver Phillip Brooks
In addition to adding running back Johnny Augustine, the CFL Transactions list shows that the Tiger-Cats have signed American wide receiver and return specialist Phillip Brooks. Brooks comes to the CFL after spending the 2024 NFL season with the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad. Before being signed by the Chiefs, Brooks established himself as a pro prospect while playing six seasons of college football at Kansas State University.
Brooks is a 5’7″, 175-pound native of Overland Park, Kansas, and he played for the Kansas State Wildcats in his home state from 2018 until 2023. During that time, he played in 65 games and caught 182 passes for 2,117 yards and fourteen touchdowns for the Wildcats. He also added 122 rushing yards with 29 carries and scored a rushing touchdown. In 2020, Brooks was a 1st-Team All-Big 12 player; in 2022, he was a 2nd-Team All-Big 12 player.
Ultimately, Brooks’s true value for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats could be his ability to be an effective kick and punt returner. While playing for the Wildcats, Brooks returned 44 kickoffs for 847 return yards. He also returned 57 punts for 717 return yards, including four punts that he returned for touchdowns.
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