Betts, Oliveira among numerous stars potentially set for CFL free agency
Published
The Canadian Football League announced Friday the list of potential free agents from all nine clubs, highlighted by a pair of award winners in Most Outstanding Defensive Player Mathieu Betts of the BC Lions and Most Outstanding Canadian Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Betts became the new single-season sack leader by a Canadian with 18 in 18 regular-season games for the Lions, surpassing previous record-holders Jamaal Westerman (2015), and former Lion, Brent Johnson, who set the record in 2005 with 17 after setting the new Canadian record with 16 just a year prior.
Betts started the season on a six-game sack streak and finished the 2023 campaign with six more sacks than AC Leonard (12), Jake Ceresna (12), and Carter Bryce (12) for the league crown.
A product of Laval University, Betts also racked up a career-high 42 defensive tackles and four forced fumbles, earning a CFL All-Star nod.
Oliveira flourished in his second full season as the Blue Bombers’ No. 1 back, joining Jon Cornish as just the second Canadian to rush for over 1,500 yards in a single season.
Oliveira took the reins for the Blue Bombers' backfield after the departure of fellow Winnipeg native Andrew Harris, who joined the Toronto Argonauts in 2022 after an illustrious and decorated career with the Bombers.
The University of North Dakota product rushed for 429 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his rookie campaign, helping the Blue Bombers capture the 108th Grey Cup over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Oliveira eclipsed his season stats a year later in 2022, taking 202 touches for 1,001 yards and four touchdowns.
Oliveira also earned a nomination for the Most Outstanding Player for his 2,014 all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns.
Other notable potential free agents include:
BC Lions WR Jevon Cottoy, Edmonton Elks DB Loucheiz Purifoy, Calgary Stampeders RB Ka'Deem Carey, Saskatchewan Roughriders WR Shawn Bane Jr., Winnipeg Blue Bombers WR Dalton Schoen, Hamilton Tiger-Cats LB Simoni Lawrence, Toronto Argonauts RB A.J. Ouellette, Ottawa Redblacks DL Lorenzo Mauldin, and Montreal Alouettes RB William Stanback.
The following players are set to hit the open market on Feb. 13, 2024, at noon ET, provided they have not come to terms with their respective teams before.
*Denotes national player
​^Denotes global player
BC Lions
Mathieu Betts* | DL | Laval
Jevon Cottoy* | WR | Langley Rams Jr.
Dominique Davis | QB | East Carolina
Tibo Debaillie^ | DL | Towson University
Jalon Edwards-Cooper | DB | Texas A&M Commerce
Dane Evans | QB | Tulsa
Stefan Flintoft | P | UCLA
Keon Hatcher | WR | Arkansas
Ben Hladik* | LB | UBC
Alexander Hollins | WR | Eastern Illinois
Mike Jones | DB | Temple
David Knevel* | OL | Nebraska
Kienan LaFrance* | RB | Manitoba
Philip Norman | OL | Bethune-Cookman
Daniel Petermann* | WR | McMaster
Maxime Rouyer^ | LB | McGill
Marcus Sayles | DB | West Georgia
Sione Teuhema | DL | Southeastern
Nick Usher | DL | Texas El Paso
Lucky Whitehead | WR | Florida Atlantic
Terry Williams | WR | UT Martin
Josh Woods | LB | UCLA
Edmonton Elks
Samuel Acheampong* | DL | Wilfrid Laurier
Emmanuel Arceneaux | WR | Alcorn State
Brett Boyko* | OL | UNLV
Ed Gainey | DB | Appalachian State
Tanner Green* | RB | Concordia
Aaron Grymes | DB | Idaho
Tomas Jack-Kurdyla* | OL | Buffalo
Tony Jones | LB | Texas Tech
AC Leonard | DL | Tennessee State
Kyran Moore | WR | Austin Peay
Cole Nelson* | DL | Albera
Donovan Olumba | DB | Portland State
Loucheiz Purifoy | DB | Florida
Jordan Reaves* | LB | Brandon University
Daniel Ross | DL | Northeast Mississippi Jr. CC
Josiah Schakel* | LB | Alberta
Josiah St. John* | OL | Oklahoma
Samuel Thomassin* | OL | Laval
Calgary Stampeders
Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund* | DL | Southeastern Louisiana
Micah Awe | LB | Texas Tech
Bryce Bell* | OL | Wilfrid Laurier
Jamal Campbell* | OL | York
Ka'Deem Carey | RB | Arizona
DJ Coker | OL | Rhodes College
Brad Cowan* | LB | Wilfrid Laurier
Branden Dozier | DB |UNC Charlotte
Elliot Graham* | DL | UBC
Luther Hakunavanhu* | WR | York
Jordan Herdman-Reed* | LB | Simon Fraser
Julian Howsare | DL | Clarion
Colton Hunchak* | WR | York
Natrell Jamerson | DB | Wisconsin
William Langlais* | RB | Sherbrooke
Peyton Logan | RB | Tennessee Martin
Terrell McClain | DL | South Florida
Sean McEwen* | OL | Calgary
Tyson Middlemost* | WR | McMaster
Dedrick Mills | RB | Nebraska
Charlie Moore* | LB | Calgary
Mike Moore | DL | Virginia
Brad Muhammad | DB | Florida International
René Paredes* | K | Concordia
Shaquille Richardson | DB | Arizona
Mike Rose | DL | North Carolina State
Ryan Sceviour* | OL | Calgary
Nicholas Statz* | DB | Calgary
Tommy Stevens | QB | Mississippi State
Silas Stweart | LB | Incarnate World
Nicholas Taylor | DB | Florida International
Malcolm Thompson* | DB | Wilfrid Laurier
Hugh Thornton | OL | Illinois
Titus Wall | LB | Missouri State
Derek Wiggan* | DL | Queen’s
Darius Williams | LB | Colorado State-Pueblo
Kobe Williams | DB | Arizona State
Saskatchewan Roughriders
Mario Alford | WR | West Virginia
Albert Awachie* | RB | Toronto
Shawn Bane Jr. | RÉ | Northwest Missouri State
Philip Blake* | OL | Baylor
Juwan Brescacin* | WR | Northern Illinois
Miles Brown | DL | Wofford College
Demarcus Christmas | DL | Florida State
Jeremy Clark | DB | Michigan
Charbel Dabire* | DL | Wagner College
Larry Dean | LB | Valdosta State
Jake Dolegala | QB | Central Connecticut State
Logan Ferland* | OL | Regina Thunder ​
Mason Fine | QB | North Texas
Amari Henderson | DB | Wake Forest
Justin Herdman-Reed* | LB | Simon Fraser
Frankie Hickson | RB | Liberty
Evan Johnson* | OL | Saskatchewan
Micah Johnson | DL | Kentucky
Tevin Jones | WR | Memphis
Colin Kelly | OL | Oregon State
Anthony Lanier II | DL | Alabama A&M
Brett Lauther* | K | Saint Mary’s
Eric Lofton | OL | Temple
Nelson Lokombo* | DB | Saskatchewan
Derrick Moncrief | LB | Oklahoma State
Jamal Morrow | RB | Washington State
Godfrey Onyeka* | DB | Wilfrid Laurier
Mitchell Picton* | WR | Regina ​
CJ Reavis | DB | Marshall
Pete Robertson | DL | Texas Tech
Micah Teitz* | LB | Calgary
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Brandon Alexander | DB | Central Florida
Johnny Augustine* | RB | Guelph
Rasheed Bailey | WR | Delaware Valley
Jesse Briggs* | LB | McGill
Dru Brown | QB | Oklahoma State
Stanley Bryant | OL | East Carolina
Sergio Castillo | K | West Texas A&M
Malik Clements | LB | Cincinnati
Brian Cole | LB | Mississippi State
Alden Darby Jr. | DB | Arizona State
Kerfalla-Emmanuel Exumé* | DB | Montréal
Tanner Cadwallader* | LB | Wilfrid Laurier
Shayne Gauthier* | LB | Laval
Janarion Grant | WR | Rutgers
Geoff Gray* | OL | Manitoba
Nick Hallett* | DB | Toronto
Thiadric Hansen^ | DL | Potsdam
Jermarcus Hardrick | OL | Nebraska
Demerio Houston | DB | Southern
Jackson Jeffcoat | DL | Texas
Willie Jefferson | DL | Stephen F. Austin State
Chris Kolankowski* | OL | York
Redha Kramdi* | LB | Montréal
Cameron Lawson* | DL | Queen’s
Greg McCrae | RB | Central Florida
Mike Miller* | RB | Acadia
Patrick Neufeld* | OL | Saskatchewan
Deatrick Nichols | DB | South Florida
Brendon O'Leary-Orange* | WR | Nevada
Brady Oliveira* | RB | North Dakota
Dakota Prukop | QB | Oregon
Winston Rose | DB | New Mexico State
Dalton Schoen | WR | Kansas
Jake Thomas* | DL | Acadia
Ricky Walker | DL | Virginia Tech
Drew Wolitarsky* | WR | Minnesota
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Tunde Adeleke *| DB | Carleton
Mason Bennett* | DL | North Dakota
Malik Carney | DL | North Carolina
Nic Cross* | LB | UBC
Ja'Gared Davis | DL | SMU
Jamal Davis | DL | Akron
Jacob Dearborn* | DB | Carleton
Chris Edwards | LB | Idaho
Bailey Feltmate* | LB | Acadia
Felix Garand-Gauthier* | RB | Laval
Terry Godwin | WR | Georgia
Stavros Katsantonis* | DB | UBC
Brandon Kemp | OL | Valdosta State
Ted Laurent* | DL | Mississippi
Simoni Lawrence | LB | Minnesota
Richard Leonard | DB | Florida International
Marc Liegghio* | K | Western
Kai Locksley | QB | Texas El Paso
Hergy Mayala* | WR | Connecticut
Jordan Murray | OL | North Texas
Chris Osei-Kusi* | WR | Queen’s
Enoch Penney-Laryea* | LB | McMaster
Brandon Revenberg* | OL | Grand Valley State
Tyrone Riley | OL | North Carolina State
Kyle Saxelid* | OL | UNLV
Matt Shiltz | QB | Butler
Fraser Sopik* | LB | Western
Tyler Ternowski* | WR | Waterloo
Sean Thomas Erlington* | RB | Montréal
Jameer Thurman | LB | Indiana State
Chris Van Zeyl* | OL | McMaster
Kaare Vedvik* | K | Marshall
Derel Walker | WR | Texas A&M
Tim White | WR | Arizona State
Duke Williams | WR | Auburn
Coulter Woodmansey* | OL | Guelph
Dylan Wynn | DL | Oregon State
Toronto Argonauts ​
Brandon Barlow | DL | Boston College
Boris Bede | K | Laval
Dariusz Bladek* | OL | Bethune-Cookman
Dejon Brissett* | WR | Virgina
Isiah Cage | OL | Wisconsin Eau Claire
Maurice Carnell | DB | North Alabama
Jack Cassar* | LB | Carleton
Darius Ciraco* | OL | Calgary
Damonte Coxie | WR | Memphis
Robertson Daniel | DB | BYU
Dylan Giffen* | OL | Western
Brian Harelimana* | LB | Montréal
Andrew Harris* | RB | Nanaimo Raiders Jr.
Jamie Harry* | DB | Ottawa
Dewayne Hendrix | DL | Pittsburgh
Trevor Hoyte* | LB | Carleton
Jonathan Jones | LB | Toledo
Javon Leake | RB | Maryland
Benoît Marion* | DL | Montréal
Wynton McManis | LB | Memphis
Henoc Muamba* | LB | St. Francis Xavier
Tommy Nield* | WR | McMaster
Shawn Oakman | DL | Baylor
AJ Ouellette | RB | Ohio
Jamal Peters | DB | Mississippi State
Cameron Phillips | WR | Virginia Tech
Adarius Pickett | LB | UCLA
Robert Priester | LB | Wyoming
Shane Richards* | OL | Oklahoma State
Tigie Sankoh^ | DB | London Warriors
Richard Sindani* | WR | Regina
Trevon Tate | OL | Memphis
Ottawa Redblacks
Bralon Addison | WR | Oregon
Nick Arbuckle | QB | Georgia State
Adam Auclair* | LB | Laval
Hakeem Bailey | DB | West Virginia
Sherrod Baltimore | DB | Maine
Dan Basambombo* | LB | Laval
Cariel Brooks | DB | Adams State
Bryce Carter | DL | James Madison
Douglas Coleman III | LB | Texas Tech
Ty Cranston* | DB | Ottawa
Brandin Dandridge | DB | Missouri Western State
Tanner Doll* | LS | Calgary
Michael Domagala* | K | Carleton
Shaq Evans | WR | UCLAS
Kevin Francis* | LB | North Carolina A&T
Anthony Gosselin* | RB | Sherbrooke
Frankie Griffin | LB | Texas State
Justin Hardy | WR | East Carolina
Justin Howell* | DB | Carleton
Monshadrik Hunter | DB | Arkansas-State
Gary Johnson | LB | Texas
Abdul Kanneh | DB | New Mexico Highlands
Richie Leone | P | Houston
Siaosi Mariner | WR | Utah State
Lorenzo Mauldin | DL | Louisville
Ante Milanovic-Litre* | RB | Simon Fraser
Nigel Romick* | DL | Saint Mary’s
Tevaun Smith* | WR | Iowa
Hunter Steward* | OL | Liberty
Tyron Vrede^ | LB | North Dakota
Michael Wakefield | DL | Florida International
Damon Webb | DB | Ohio State
Devonte Williams | RB | Southeastern Louisiana
Montreal Alouettes
Jeshrun Antwi* | RB | Calgary
Tyrice Beverette | LB | Stony Brook
David Brown* | OL | Western
Frédéric Chagnon* | LB | Montréal
Régis Cibasu* | WR | Montréal
Vincent Desjardins* | DL | Laval
Greg Ellingson | WR | Florida International
Avery Ellis | DL | Temple
Ciante Evans | DB |Nebraska
Walter Fletcher | RB | Ball State
Alexandre Gagne* | LB | Sherbrooke
Philippe Gagnon* | OL | Laval
Jesse Gibbon* | OL | Waterloo
Jake Harty* | WR | Calgary
Shawn Lemon | DL | Akron
Nafees Lyon | DB | UNC Charlotte
Kristian Matte* | OL | Concordia
Najee Murray | DB | Kent State
Landon Rice* | OL | Manitoba
Darnell Sankey | LB | Sacramento State
William Stanback | RB | Virginia Union
James Tuck* | RB | York
Avery Williams | LB | Temple