HAMILTON — Veteran American linemen Ja’Gared Davis and Joel Figueroa are back with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Hamilton announced the signing of Davis and Figueroa on Wednesday, the second day of CFL free agency.
Davis spent the 2019 and 2021 seasons with the Ticats before joining the archrival Toronto Argonauts in 2022. The 32-year-old appeared in 14 regular-season games and two playoff contests with Toronto, which captured the 2022 Grey Cup.
The six-foot-one, 238-pound American had 36 tackles (one for a loss) and four pass knockdowns.
Davis is entering his seventh CFL season, having played in 89 career games with Toronto, Hamilton and Calgary (2016-18). He appeared in Grey Cups in each of his Canadian campaigns, winning in 2018 and 2022.
He has amassed 256 tackles, 49 sacks, three interceptions, 10 forced fumbles and two defensive touchdowns.
The six-foot-six, 320-pound Figueroa spent the last four seasons (2018-19, 2021-22) with B.C. He started 18 regular-season games and the West final for the Lions last year.
Figueroa, 32, began his CFL career with Hamilton (2013-15) while also spending time with Edmonton (2016-17).
The Ticats also re-signed American receiver Tim White and added Canadian receiver Llevi Noel.
White had 94 catches for 1,265 yards and eight touchdowns with the club last year. The five-foot-10, 185-pound White has 150 catches for 2,039 yards and 10 TDs in 30 regular-season games over two years with Hamilton.
Noel, 31, had a nine-yard reception and six special-teams tackles in 11 games last season with Edmonton. The six-foot-two, 198-pound Toronto native has spent seven CFL seasons with the Elks (2022), Ottawa (2022) and Argos (2016-21).
Hamilton also shored up its ground game by signing James Butler to a two-year deal. Butler, 27 was the CFL’s second-leading rusher with 1,060 yards on 210 carries and seven TDs last season with the B.C. Lions.
Over two seasons with B.C., the five-foot-nine, 210-pound American ran for 1,557 yards on 311 carries and nine TDs while adding 92 catches for 627 yards and five touchdowns.
On defence, Hamilton added linebackers Jameer Thurman and Fraser Sopik and defensive linemen Casey Sayles and Kwaku Boateng. Sopik and Boateng are Canadians.
Thurman, 28, had 74 tackles (four for a loss), two forced fumbles and three interceptions in 15 regular-season games last season with Calgary. The six-foot, 227-pound Thurman began his CFL career with the Stampeders (2017-18, 2021-22), and has registered 300 total tackles (269 defensive, seven tackles for loss), six sacks and six interceptions.
Thurman won a Grey Cup with Calgary in 2018 before spending the ’19 campaign with the NFL’s Chicago Bears. In 2020, when the CFL didn’t hold a season due to the global pandemic, Thurman played for the XFL’s DC Defenders.
Sopik, a 25-year-old Toronto native, had 21 tackles (14 defensive) two sacks and a forced fumble in 12 games last season with Calgary. The six-foot, 209-pound Sopik appeared in 44 games over three seasons with the Stampeders.
Sayles, 27, started 18 games last season with Winnipeg, recording 36 tackles (one for loss), six sacks and two forced fumbles. The six-foot-four, 282-pound Sayles spent two seasons with the Bombers, recording 64 tackles, 11 sacks and two forced fumbles in 32 games.
Boateng suffered a season-ending torn Achilles during training camp last season with Ottawa. The six-foot-two, 257-pound Canadian had 82 tackles, 25 sacks, and two forced fumbles in 64 regular-season games over four seasons with Edmonton.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2023.
