The Argos have announced that they have re-signed four players for the upcoming 2022 season. And they have also released one of the players who failed to show up in Canada this season.

The Argos have extended Canadians OL Darius Bladek, DL Robbie Smith, and LB Alex Chevrier. American DL Dewayne Hendrix will also return to the Six.

A player who never showed up in Toronto in 2021, WR Martavis Bryant, was officially released on Thursday. So ends the saga of the enigmatic Bryant in Toronto.

The return of Dariusz Bladek is a significant one. Bladek was signed by the Boatmen back in 2020, and he waited a full year to show his value. And that’s exactly what he did in 2021, starting ten games, despite battling injuries all season. Bladek was one of the most consistent and unheralded performers for the Double Blue last season. The Boatmen are getting the band back together upfront. Toronto’s starting offensive line will remain intact in 2022. With a returning Jamal Campbell, Dejon Allen, Philip Blake, and rookie sensation Peter Nicastro. Shane Richards, who played the role of super-sub in 2021, is a free agent, and it remains to be seen if he will return.

Robbie Smith also had a significant wait from 2019 to 2021. The former first-round pick took great strides in 2021, playing 14 games at multiple positions on the defensive line. Smith registered four sacks and 15 tackles last season. He is another example of the terrific drafting done by Director of Scouting Vince Magri.

Chevrier was a late-season pickup for Double Blue. The veteran CFL linebacker strongly impacted special teams in his brief stay with the Boatmen.

DL Dewayne Hendrix, similar to Robbie Smith, was a jack of all trades in the defensive trenches. Hendrix should provide good depth as he enters his second season in Canada.

These signings by Toronto signify that the football team is proceeding full steam ahead, even without former VP of Personnel John Murphy.

Other Argos News

In case you missed it. The CFL on Wednesday announced that the league was suspending league All-Star Chris Edwards six games for his actions after the East Final. Edwards was involved in an altercation with rowdy and violent fans after the game concluded. One could argue that the penalty against Edwards is a rather stiff one considering the circumstances. It will be interesting to see if the CFL players union will step up to try and appeal and have Edwards’s harsh suspension reduced.

Losing Edwards for the first six games of the 2022 season could be a significant blow for Toronto’s defence.

Also adding further salt into the Boatmen’s East Final wounds is that the CFL has fined Toronto Argonauts quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson for an inappropriate on-field incident with a cameraperson following the Eastern Final on Sunday, December 5. McLeod Bethel-Thompson is a pending free agent, and it will be fascinating to see if he is back in Toronto next season or back in the CFL, for that matter.

Below is the Argonauts press release on today’s transactions.

ARGOS TRANSACTIONS – THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021  

TORONTO – The Toronto Argonauts announced today the team has extended Canadian DL Robbie Smith, Canadian OL Dariusz Bladek, Canadian LB Alex Chevrier, and re-signed American DL Dewayne Hendrix.

Smith, 24, posted 24 defensive tackles, six special teams tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble in 14 games for the Double Blue in 2021. The ninth overall selection in the 2019 CFL Draft built off his rookie 2019 season that saw the Brampton native and Laurier product record 15 defensive tackles, four sacks, and one forced fumble.

Bladek, 27, played ten games in his first season in Toronto along a stout offensive line. The Bethune Cookman alum signed as a free agent in February of 2020 after three seasons and 45 games for Saskatchewan.

After playing four games for Montreal earlier in the year, Chevrier, 28, was signed by Toronto during the 2021 season. The Sherbrooke product played six games for the Argos down the stretch adding two special teams tackles. The Quebec native spent his first two seasons in Regina (2018-2019) and has 32 special teams tackles for his career.

Hendrix, 25, played six games in 2021, recording nine defensive tackles and one sack along the defensive line. The Illinois native and the former University of Pittsburgh Panthers spent time in the NFL and XFL before coming to Canada.

The team also released American WR Martavis Bryant.