The Hamilton Tiger-Cats opened camp Sunday minus Ted Laurent as the veteran Canadian defensive lineman announced his retirement after 12 CFL seasons. Laurent, a 36-year-old Montreal native was a two-time CFL all-star and the East Division's top Canadian in 2014.
The six-foot-one, 305-pound defensive tackle played for both Edmonton (2011-13) and Hamilton (2014-19, 2021-23). He registered a career-high nine sacks in 2014 and helped the Ticats reach the playoffs eight times over his nine seasons with the franchise, including Grey Cup appearances in 2019 and 2021.
Laurent started 144-of-187 career CFL games, registering 235 tackles (25 for loss), 53 sacks, nine forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.
"I left it all out there every time I took the field and I can truly say it’s time for me to step away," Laurent said in a statement. "I want to thank all my teammates for being a part of this incredible journey.
"Thank you to Coach Reed, Coach Austin, Coach Jones and Coach O for believing in me and challenging me to be the best version of myself. Finally, thank you my wife, Ashley, for always supporting me and to my son Xavier, I’m glad you got to watch Daddy play."
Hamilton also placed Canadian linebacker Nic Cross and American offensive lineman Joel Figueroa on the six-game injured list and put global punter Bailey Flint on the suspended list. Canadian defensive lineman Mo Diallo (2021 third-round pick) and American receiver Terry Godwin (68 catches, 864 yards, six TDS last season) were both released.
Saskatchewan released veteran defensive back Jalon Edwards-Cooper on Sunday. The Riders signed Edwards-Cooper to a one-year deal in February after he spent his first three CFL seasons with the B.C. Lions.
Canadian defensive lineman Anthony Bennett was among eight players let go by Winnipeg. The six-foot, 235-pound Bennett was the Blue Bombers' '23 first-round pick and appeared in all 18 regular-season games as a rookie, recording eight tackles and three special-teams tackles.
Edmonton released defensive lineman Cole Nelson and linebacker Wesly Appolon, both Canadians who had been drafted by the CFL club.
The Elks selected Nelson, of Ponoka, Alta., in the first round, fifth overall, of the 2021 draft. The former University of Alberta star appeared in 20 career games with Edmonton, registering 13 tackles.
Appolon was a 2022 fifth-round selection out of Tuskegee University. The Montreal native appeared in one game as a rookie before suffering an injury that would sideline him for the rest of that season and 2023.
The Elks' first workout of training camp was held indoors at the Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre fieldhouse due to the air quality. And poor air quality forced Winnipeg to look at staging its opening session to sometime this afternoon although the Bombers were to provide an update later about the revised start time.
Veteran Canadian kicker Michael Domagala signed with the Ottawa Redblacks. The five-foot-nine, 200-pound St. Catharines, Ont., native appeared in five games with the CFL club last year when Canadian Lewis Ward was injured, connecting on 8-of-9 field goal tries.
1:37
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.