The CFL free agency period officially starts, but for the Tiger-Cats, there is progress they can make to improve their roster, whether they sign high-profile free agents or add role players. Last week, during the CFL legal tampering period before the start of free agency, the Tiger-Cats officially signed American linebacker Wynton McManis after the Toronto Argonauts had released him. Hamilton also reached an agreement for free agent contracts with two role players on special teams, WR Tyson Middlemost and DE Kene Onyeka.
That trend of signing role players continues, as the Tiger-Cats have signed punter Fraser Masin just before the start of the active free-agent signing period.
The 6’4″, 241-pound punter Fraser Masin is a native of Australia, and he grew up playing Australian rules football before coming to the United States to play college football at the University of Mississippi. The Calgary Stampeders selected Masin with the first overall pick in the 2025 CFL Global draft. During the 2025 CFL season, Masin played in five games for the Stampeders, punting the ball 27 times for an average punt of 46.0 yards/punt, but due to inconsistency, Masin finished the season on the Stampeders practice squad.
While playing at Ole Miss from 2022 to 2024, Masin played in 37 games and punted 125 times, averaging 43.5 yards/punt with only 4 touchbacks. In addition, Masin was able to place the ball inside the 20-yard line, doing so 41 times and recording only 4 touchbacks. Physically, Masin has the prototypical build for an elite punter. Still, when playing at Ole Miss, he did not get to punt as often as other punters because Lane Kiffin’s philosophy favored minimizing punting.
Masin is a physically imposing punter in the CFL and is not afraid to make tackles when needed. The Australian punter also has an exceptionally strong leg and the ability to control the position of the ball in tight quarters. To get the most out of this acquisition, the Tiger-Cats will need to have patience and allow Masin to speed up his punt operation time and improve his precision at the CFL level.
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