Tiger-Cats very busy on 2nd day of free agency

The second day of CFL free agency was a busy one for Orlondo Steinauer and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Hamilton announced the signing of nine free agents Wednesday, including receiver Tim White, the lone returnee from last year's squad. Two others — defensive lineman Ja'Gared Davis and offensive lineman Joel Figueroa — are back with the Ticats after time away.

Newcomers include receiver Llevi Noel, running back James Butler, linebackers Jameer Thurman and Fraser Sopik and defensive linemen Casey Sayles and Kwaku Boateng. Noel, Sopik and Boateng are Canadians.

"The one thing that's very impressive is when those players were in this building, high character," Steinauer, the Ticats head coach/president of football operations, told reporters in Hamilton. "They're players who wanted to be here.

The six-foot-one, 238-pound Davis returns to Hamilton after helping archrival Toronto win the '22 Grey Cup. He had 36 tackles (one for a loss), seven sacks and four pass knockdowns in 14 regular-season games.

Davis spent the '19 and '21 seasons with Hamilton, helping the Ticats reach the Grey Cup both years. Davis, 32, is entering his seventh CFL season and has appeared in the Grey Cup each year, winning in 2018 (with Calgary) and last year.

Davis has 256 tackles, 49 sacks, three interceptions, 10 forced fumbles and two defensive TDs during his CFL tenure.

"First of all he's very familiar with the building, our environment and our culture," Steinauer said. "As far as getting after the passer, I put him up there with anybody in the league.

The six-foot-six, 320-pound Figueroa spent the last four seasons (2018-19, 2021-22) with B.C. Figueroa, 32, began his CFL career with Hamilton (2013-15) while also spending time with Edmonton (2016-17).