In a league where 67% of the teams qualify for the playoffs, missing the playoffs is a big deal and motivates making changes during the off-season. After a disappointing 7-11 season and missing the CFL playoffs, the Tiger-Cats are in an urgent position to adjust to get the franchise back on track. One of the most significant changes made by the Tiger-Cats this off-season involved hiring Ted Goveia away from Winnipeg to become their new general manager.
As Hamilton quickly approaches the 2025 CFL Free-Agent signing period, Goveia and the Tiger-Cats are making moves to get ready to upgrade their roster. This week, the Tiger-Cats have made key adjustments to their front office personnel, rewarded quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell for a job well done in 2024, released running back James Butler and defensive lineman Trevon Mason, and signed American wide receiver Brevin Easton. Hamilton is showing that they are an organization willing to make changes; over the next several months, there will be many more changes.
Will those changes pay off for the Tiger-Cats in 2025? The Tiger-Cats will answer that question during the season, but Hamiltonβs moves this week show they are willing to adjust. Letβs look at how the weekβs changes may affect the Hamilton Tiger-Cats shortly.
A Big Improvement Receives a Big Reward
During the 2023 off-season, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats made moves to acquire CFL veteran quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell. Despite several seasons shortened by injuries, Hamilton gambled that Mitchell may have had a few more championship seasons left in his body.
In 2023, the Tiger-Cats lost that gamble, with Mitchell getting injured early and often during the season. Whenever it seemed like Mitchell would be returning, he would suffer another setback. Last January, Mitchellβs disappointing performance resulted in a restructuring contract with reduced guaranteed pay and more built-in performance incentives. The result was a vast redemption year for Mitchell, in which he completed 68.4% of his passes for a league-leading 5,101 passing yards and 32 passing touchdowns with only 18 interceptions.
Mitchellβs 101.2 quarterback rating in 2024 was much closer to the performance that the Tiger-Cats had hoped for when they acquired Mitchell from the Calgary Stampeders. According to a tweet by Farhan Lalji of TSN, Mitchellβs improved performance resulted in a pay increase of nearly $100,000 and still includes almost $51,000 in performance incentives.
Adjustments to the Tiger-Cats Front Office
During the last several off-seasons, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats have actively worked to change their roster. Many of those changes did not get the results the Tiger-Cats expected, leading to criticism of the leadership in player development and acquisition. Hiring Goveia as the GM was a significant move towards re-building that area of their franchise, and this week, Goveia has made personnel changes that may allow him to put his stamp on the Tiger-Cats personnel department.
According to a tweet by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, those adjustments include hiring Cyril Penn as their Director of Player Personnel, Alex Russell as the new Director of Scouting, and Dave Vandernat as their new Director of Pro Scouting.
Leaving the Hammer
Since the end of the 2024 season, there have been rumors that Tiger-Cats running back James Butler desired to be released by the team after seeing a significant dip in carries and production from 2023 into 2024. During the 2023 season, the Tiger-Cats signed Butler after he had a big 2022 season with the BC Lions. And in 2023, Butler had a 1000-yard rushing season while playing in 17 games. In 2024, Butler only had the opportunity to play in 11 games, and he only produced 1,526 yards with 198 rush attempts, resulting in only seven rushing touchdowns
During his four-year career in the CFL, Butler has played in 56 games for the BC Lions (2021, 2022) and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2023,2024). For his career, Butler has produced 3,195 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns. After the Tiger-Cats released Butler, the BC Lions quickly signed the former BC Lion for the 2025 season.
In addition to releasing Butler, the Tiger-Cats also released American defensive lineman Trevon Mason. The Tiger-Cats signed Mason after he had a successful season with the Houston Roughnecks during the 2023 XFL season. During the 2024 season, Mason played 10 games for the Tiger-Cats but only recorded 18 total tackles.
Welcome to the Hammer
Along with releasing Butler and Mason from the Tiger-Cats roster, the CFL Transactions list shows that Hamilton has added American wide receiver Brevin Easton to the 2025 roster. Easton spent time with the Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2024 NFL season. The 5β10β, 187-pound receiver played college football at the University of Albany from 2022 until 2023, and he played in 20 games and recorded 85 receptions for 1,509 yards and 15 touchdowns. In addition, Easton added five rushing touchdowns while only getting 15 rush attempts. Before playing for the Great Danes, Easton played 20 games at NCAA Division II Assumption University, where he registered 55 receptions for 1,100 receiving yards and 12 touchdown receptions.
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