As the CFL has turned their focus from free agency to new prospective CFL players during a series of combines, the Tiger-Cats are evaluating their roster and finding ways they can cut the fat from their roster. The fat would take the form of players on their current roster that have had an opportunity to prove themselves, but have failed to define a role for themselves with the Tiger-Cats. According to the CFL Transactions list, Hamilton has released National defensive back Jonathan Giustini, Global linebacker Penei Pavihi, and American wide receiver Dezmon Patmon.
Jonathan Giustini officially signed with the Tiger-Cats early this off-season before the start of 2025. Hamilton drafted Giustini in the 6th round of the 2024 CFL draft. Many times when players are drafted in the CFL Draft, CFL teams are willing to wait for the player they choose to grow into a role on their roster. Unfortunately, for Giustini, the Tiger-Cats have determined that Giustini is no longer a fit for their roster heading into the 2025 CFL season.
In 2023, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats drafted former University of Hawaii football player Penei Pavihi with the expectations that he would be able to develop into a role that allowed him to contribute to Hamilton’s efforts on the field. Pavihi was the Tiger-Cats 1st round pick in the CFL Global Draft in 2023, and there were expectations that Pavihi could become more than an ornamental Global player on the Tiger-Cats roster. During the 2023 season, Pavihi played in 17 games for the Tiger-Cats but only recorded four tackles. Heading into Pavihi’s second season with the Tiger-Cats he failed to define a role for himself for Hamilton and only played in one game, and now the Tiger-Cats have chosen to release Pavihi.
In addition to releasing Giustini and Pavihi, the Tiger-Cats have also released American wide receiver Dezmon Patmon. When the Tiger-Cats signed Patmon last spring, the potential of Patmon becoming a consistent producer on the Tiger-Cats offence was due to his NFL experience before coming to the CFL. During the Tiger-Cats preseason games in 2024, Patmon made several plays and did enough to make the Tiger-Cats 2024 roster. Unfortunately, Patmon did not get an opportunity to contribute on the field for Hamilton during the 2024 season and now he is released from the team.
In addition to cutting several players from the 2025 roster, the Tiger-Cats have also been signing players recently. For an unexplainable reason, the Tiger-Cats usually have a lag time of about a week when they sign a new player. Today, the Tiger-Cats officially announced that they have signed defensive end Philip Ossai, and during that time we mentioned what Ossai would bring to Hamilton, check out that article on CFL News Hub.
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