Mar 14, 2026
CFLEdmontonToronto
Ottawa and Calgary send the largest delegations. Toronto has been the most active team in free agency. The organizational picture for all nine clubs will shift significantly before May's training camp.
The 2026 CFL Combine presented by Anytime Fitness is set for Edmonton from March 27-29, with the University of Ottawa and University of Calgary sending the largest delegations of any programs in the country. The Combine serves as the primary evaluation event for Canadian prospects entering the CFL Draft, running alongside the league's free agency period and providing teams with the athletic testing data and interview time that inform their draft boards. This year's class includes a notable presence of prospects from programs that have historically supplied CFL rosters — schools where the pipeline from university football to professional league is well-established and the transition is understood by coaching staffs on both ends.
Continue reading →Mar 10, 2026
CFLWinnipegEdmontonReginaToronto
The first days of CFL free agency produced a bidding war, a pipeline test for Edmonton, and Winnipeg doing what Winnipeg does — moving early and paying for quality.
The CFL free agent market opened Friday and has continued through the weekend with the volume of movement that typically characterizes the first several days of the signing period — high activity at the receiver and defensive back positions, more deliberate movement on the offensive line, and at least one team that has been significantly more aggressive than its offseason record suggested it would be. Winnipeg, which has been the most consistently successful CFL organization over the past decade, is rebuilding its defensive secondary after losing two starters to retirement. The Blue Bombers have moved quickly and paid at the top of the defensive back market, which is consistent with the organization's approach of not allowing roster depth to erode during transition periods. Winnipeg's track record of developing players within a system gives them a margin for error that smaller-market clubs don't have.
Continue reading →Mar 2, 2026
CFLVancouverTorontoCalgary
The league called the change specific to Rouyer's case. Teams are skeptical. The import-to-national ratio shapes roster construction at every club in the league.
The CFL's American ratio rules — commonly called the import-to-national ratio — continue to be one of the more distinctive roster construction challenges in professional football, and the 2026 offseason has produced several situations that illustrate how teams are managing the constraints creatively. The basic structure requires that each team dress a minimum number of Canadian (National) players at each position group, which limits how freely teams can sign American (import) players regardless of talent evaluation. The practical effect is that organizations with deep National player pipelines have a structural advantage over teams that haven't invested in that development pipeline.
Continue reading →Mar 1, 2026
CFLHamiltonTorontoWinnipegSaskatchewan
McManis from Toronto to Hamilton is a double move — it helps the Tiger-Cats and hurts the Argonauts simultaneously. Winnipeg stayed quiet. Saskatchewan added depth.
The CFL's roster deadline for finalizing free agency commitments passed Sunday, and the league's nine teams now have a clearer picture of what they're building toward when training camp opens in May. Hamilton's addition of Wynton McManis gives the Tiger-Cats a legitimate defensive anchor for the first time since they parted with Simoni Lawrence three years ago. McManis arriving from Toronto also removes a player who had been consistently problematic for Hamilton in late-season games — the kind of rival-to-roster move that helps twice. Hamilton's defense was functional in 2025; with McManis, the ceiling rises.
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