The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are staring at a potential wide receiver problem as they prepare to make roster-building moves during the free agency period. Over the last several weeks, Tim White, Isaiah Wooden Sr., Drew Wolitarsky, and Brendan O’Leary-Orange have left the Tiger-Cats for new destinations in the CFL. In addition, wide receiver Shemar Bridges is still a pending free agent, and the Tiger-Cats will need to decide on whether or not to extend his time in Hamilton sooner rather than later.
In an effort find solutions, the Tiger-Cats have reached an agreement with receiver Kenny Lawler to re-work his contract according to the CFL Transactions list.
During the 2025 season, Kenny Lawler was the highest-paid non-quarterback in the CFL. The 6’1″, 180-pound Lawler lived up to the expectation that comes with that salary. Lawler played in every Tiger-Cats game in 2025, and he caught 86 passes for 1,443 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Despite Lawler’s individual success, the Tiger-Cats still came up short against the Montreal Alouettes in the East Division Final. While Hamilton has lost several wide receivers this offseason, Lawler’s willingness to rework his contract shows his commitment to winning in Hamilton. Currently, Lawler, Kiondre Smith, and Keaton Bruggeling would be the returning receivers for Hamilton.
However, Shemar Bridges has been a breakout playmaker for Hamilton, and the Tiger-Cats could be using this as an opportunity to add more to an offer for Bridges to remain with the Tiger-Cats. On the other hand, increasing salary cap flexibility would give the Tiger-Cats more opportunities to pair explosive players with Lawler and quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell to give Hamilton an even more explosive offensive passing attack. This will be the first of more moves in the near future, and there will be some intrigue around Hamilton’s plans to use the resources they are freeing up with a restructured contract for Lawler.
For more football content, check out Football Scientific
Follow me on X: @AaronSauter7
E W
February 3, 2026 at 11:42 pm
They definitely have to shore up the receiver area. Problem is most big name players tend to sign on the 1st day of FA, which has become typical. Teams spend big on the 1st day & you chance missing out because the $$$ disappear fast. That’s become the norm as noted by Dave Naylor.
The TiCats have been hit hard especially on the OL which was excellent last year. With the prior release of White & Sayles that’s 11 players by my count. It’s not just a simple matter of throwing out replacements because it takes time to gel as a team. Compare this to the Als who, had Alexander been healthy, likely finish 1st last year. They just didn’t have a lot of players go to free agency & few that they really needed to sign. Lot of work to do in Hamilton unfortunately.