Recently, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats have been using their time during the 2026 CFL free agency period to improve their depth on special teams, the offensive line, and the linebacker positions. However, the Tiger-Cats need to spend some of their salary cap capital on adding more strength to their defensive line. Last season, the Tiger-Cats’ defensive front seven significantly improved their ability to generate a consistent pass rush, but they struggled to stop opponents’ running games.

Today, the Tiger-Cats made a roster move to attempt to solidify the middle of their defensive line by signing National defensive tackle Charbel Dabire.

Charbel Dabire is a 6’0″, 300-pound defensive tackle who has spent his entire CFL career with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Dabire played in 59 games for Saskatchewan from 2019 until 2024. While playing for the Roughriders, Dabire registered 42 solo tackles and 8.0 quarterback sacks.

While Dabire is from Canada, he played college football in the United States at Wagner, an NCAA FCS program, from 2016 until 2018. During his time with the Wagner Seahawks, Dabire played in 33 games, recording 44 solo tackles, 29 assists, and 2.0 quarterback sacks. Dabire’s experience playing at Wagner demonstrated his athleticism. However, because he didn’t face top-level competition every week in college, He still has some work to do to improve his consistency.

Since coming to the CFL, Dabire has built a reputation for his versatility and quickness off the ball on the defensive front seven. In addition, he can produce a consistent pass rush from the interior part of the defensive line. The downside with Dabire is that he has struggled with injuries, including missing 14 games during the 2024 season, and he did not play in 2025.

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