MILTON: Game-Breaking Receiver Kenny Lawler Highlights Tiger-Cats Free Agent Haul

In a free agency landslide of new Ticats, Kenny Lawler is the biggest boulder.

In the aftermath of the first 24 hours of CFL free agency, have the Tiger-Cats become a better team today than they were at the end of last season?

Standing back a step and donning my hat of objectivity, I’d have to answer yes.

An impressive haul of new players were added, to go with previous signings that have been accumulating for a couple of weeks: veteran Canadian receiver and Cup winner Drew Wolitarsky; national defensive lineman Owen Hubert, returning potential free agents Kiondré Smith, Tyler Ternowski, Ante Litre, Trevor Hoyte, Jonathan Moxey and, on Tuesday, Brendan O’Leary-Orange.

A team enters free agency with certain targets, and if it hits most of them, consider the process a success. As we pointed out in a column earlier this week on Ticats.ca, a squad which showed stretches of encouraging promise but missed the playoffs, needed to address a number of areas in the off-season.

And address them they did. Eight new signings have been announced. Maybe more to come.

The Ticats added a lot of Grey Cup experience, much of it from Winnipeg, corralled  headline receiver Kenny Lawler who was on everyone’s wish list, compensated for the expected loss of free agent centre David Beard to Edmonton with muscular Western All-CFL guard Liam Dobson and former Ticat and McMaster lineman Jakub Szott, filled problematic holes on the field-side with aggressively versatile defensive backs DaShaun Amos and Reggie Stubblefield, added proven tackling prowess in the middle defensive tier with linebacker Brian Cole, and cranked up the gas burner under their quarterback-attack.

General Manager Ted Goveia and his player personnel department took dead aim at the pass rush, signing two former Blue Bombers who can join the likes of Casey Sayles, Brandon Barlow and Mario Kendricks on a defensive line which new coordinator Brent Monson wants to be faster and fiercer. Defensive end TyJuan Garbutt is only 25 but after recovering from a broken ankle had three sacks and 19 defensive tackles for Cup-finalist Winnipeg in just 12 games. His linemate, Miles Fox, played only three regular-season games for Winnipeg, but made three tackles, and played in both the West final and Grey Cup.

Lawler and Wolitarsky have each won two Grey Cups with Winnipeg and played in a couple of others; Cole, Garbutt and Fox have suited up in Cups for the Bombers, Stubblefield won the Cup with the Alouettes in Hamilton two years ago and Amos had an interception for the Argos in their Cup victory over the Bombers in November.

And, don’t forget, the Ticats already had a lot of good players under contract, including their top three quarterbacks, game-breaker Tim White, multi-talented running back Greg Bell, emerging receivers Shemar Bridges and Jevoni Robinson, the boundary side of their secondary, both starting offensive tackles and dominant guards Brandon Revenberg and Coulter Woodmansey, and several special-teams cornerstones.

“I think we got better in all areas,” Goveia said today. “Our strength was our passing game and I always believe in keeping your strengths as your strengths. You don’t want to weaken a unit. I think we’ve improved in that area.

“The addition of Liam Dobson on the offensive line makes it easier, after the departure of David Beard.

“On defence we felt we needed to improve the secondary and bring in guys who have experience in bigger games. And we were able to do those things.

“And, obviously, we’ve improved the defensive line with the additions of TyJuan Garbutt and Miles Fox.”

The Ticats will introduce some of the new players, including Lawler, to the public on Wednesday afternoon. I spent a little time with the personable California native and he was impressed with the team facilities and offices. He also voluntarily took a tour to introduce himself to the behind-the-scenes staff in the business office. He said he’s already talked to Bo Levi Mitchell and both ends of that pass-and-catch battery are excited to start working together. And he couldn’t help but notice that he’s played with five of the new Ticats in Winnipeg.

While there are abundant all-stars and Cup winners in today’s signings, Lawler is the one who will resonate most immediately with the fans. He’s 6-foot-3, runs admirable routes, was All-CFL in 2021 and All-CFL West twice. Plus, he’s got history here, catching three passes in the Bombers’ (gulp) Cup win in 2021 over the Ticats and racking up 144 yards on 10 catches in a loss to the Ticats in 2019, the year he became a CFL regular. By 2021, he was leading the league in reception yardage.

His arrival has made an impression on his new teammates too.

“Kenny is one of those guys when you turn on the tape you can’t miss him,” says Tiger-Cats safety Stavros Katsantonis, who’s had to cover him the past four seasons. “He’s got a long catch radius and can go up and, really, catch any ball. That gives him a huge advantage. “He’s one of those receivers—and you don’t see a lot of them—who likes to high-point it, go up and get the ball when it’s at its peak. To have guys like that I imagine is a quarterback’s dream.

“He has a reputation around the league that speaks for itself. I think he’s a leader, a guy who will put the team first. Kenny understands the physicality of the game, not just getting touchdowns, and is one of the guys who are willing to block for other guys.”

Head coach Scott Milanovich said, “Kenny is a prototypical ‘X’ receiver you can leave out there for all the plays. He’s a route runner, he can get deep, he can catch 50-50 balls. He’s a great competitor, a winner, a difference maker. Just a really special player.”

The Ticats not only have overall receiving robustness, they’re deep in Canadians with Smith, Wolitarsky, Ternowski, O’Leary-Orange, and Luther Hakunavanhu, who suffered a scary head injury in mid-August.

That will be one of those competitions-within-the-competition at training camp and in regular-season practice.

“Knowing we’re going to start at least two Canadian receivers, it’s nice to know you’ve got that depth there,” Milanovich said.

He also likes the addition of speed and big-game experience, bolstering the secondary’s wide side with two aggressive players in DaShaun Amos, the projected starter at field halfback and Reggie Stubblefield who brings thunder and lightning to the SAM linebacker position. And Brian Cole II will be a special teams mainstay while pushing for a regular spot at linebacker.

And while some casual fans might not recognize this, adding Dobson—who was a divisional all-star at left guard for Winnipeg—helps cover the loss of Beard. He can shift to right guard to allow Coulter Woodmansey to move to centre, with sophomore offensive lineman Nate Doumolin Duguay also getting lots of practice reps there.

“I feel good about all four of those guys handling the three spots in the middle,” Milanovich said.

It’s also possible the Ticats use the No. 2 spot in the draft to select a young centre for backup and development.

“I’m pleased with what Ted and his staff did,” Milanovich said of free agency’s opening volleys. “We addressed some needs and strengthened some areas offensively. I think it’s a really good start, very positive.”

Hidden in the avalanche of signings was an indication that this isn’t completely about 2025, although once training camp starts, that’s the only year that matters. These are not old, maybe-over-the-hill acquisitions. Lawler and Amos just turned 30 last season. Wolitarsky is 29, Fox 28, Dobson and Cole 27, Stubblefield 26 and Garbutt 25.

“There’s always future planning,” Goveia agreed. “You want to put up the best roster you can leading to training camp, but we do want to get younger and wanted to make sure we got guys here who are working together for a couple of years. Obviously, guys who have success and who are younger will be here longer. So that was certainly part of the planning process.

“I’m happy with the core group of our team and we have re-signed some core players from last year’s team and added a lot of players who have been in the huddle during Grey Cups, whether it’s in Montreal, Winnipeg or Toronto. These guys have all played games deep into the playoffs and know what it takes to win.

“We are just starting to build towards a very competitive 2025 training camp. This is just the beginning.”