September 14, 2024; Hamilton, Ontario, CAN; Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeat the Ottawa Redblacks 37-21 at Tim Hortons Field. Photo by John E. Sokolowski
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have signed American linebackers Jason Johnson and Justin Whiteside, the team announced today.
Johnson, 23, attended training camp with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys last year after signing as an undrafted free agent in May. The 6-2, 235-pound native of Chicago, Illinois split his NCAA career between the University of Central Florida (2022-23) and Eastern Illinois University (2019-21), earning Second-Team All-Big 12 status in 2023 and AAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and First Team All-AAC recognition in 2022 with the Knights after being honoured as a FCS All-American and First-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference with Eastern Illinois in 2020 and 2021.
Whiteside, 24, played five seasons at Central Michigan (2020-24), where he recorded 214 tackles (117 solo), 23.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 quarterback sacks, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in 55 games.
