B.C. Lions offensive lineman Jarell Broxton, bottom right, stretches along with the rest of his teammates during the CFL football team's training camp in Kamloops, B.C., on Monday, May 15, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

It took some time but Jarell Broxton is finally a Winnipeg Blue Bomber.

The six-foot-five, 325-pound American offensive lineman signed a two-year deal with Winnipeg on Tuesday, the first day of CFL free agency. Broxton, 32, spent the last five seasons with the B.C. Lions and last year anchored an offensive line that allowed a CFL-low 20 sacks.

While Broxton was B.C.'s top offensive lineman the past three seasons, he originally signed with Winnipeg in February 2020. The CFL didn't play that year due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and Broxton then joined the Lions.

Winnipeg also signed Canadian receiver Tommy Nield to a two-year deal. The six-foot-three, 203-pound Guelph, Ont., native had 42 catches for 535 yards and five TDs in 13 regular-season games with the Grey Cup-champion Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2025.

Elsewhere, the Calgary Stampeders signed Canadian receiver Dejon Brissett to a two-year contract. The Mississauga, Ont., native spent the past five seasons with the Toronto Argonauts, winning two Grey Cups.

Brissett was named the top Canadian in Toronto's '24 championship win over Winnipeg.

The Ottawa Redblacks signed veteran defensive back Demerio Houston, running back Greg Bell and receiver Ayden Eberhardt, all Americans. Houston's deal was for one year while Bell and Eberhardt signed for two seasons.

Houston, 29, appeared in five games last year with Winnipeg, and has 14 career picks in 50 contests with the Bombers and Calgary.

The six-foot, 200-pound Bell ran for a career-best 1,038 yards last season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Eberhardt had 45 catches for 863 yards and four TDs last year with B.C. His 19.2-yard average per catch was second-highest in the CFL.

Hamilton signed American receiver/returner Mario Alford and Canadian receiver Tyson Middlemost.

Alford, 34, was the CFL's top special-teams player in 2022 and spent last season in Saskatchewan where he returned 44 punts for 476 yards over 11 regular-season games.

Middlemost, 28, of Dundas, Ont., had five catches for 34 yards while adding eight special-teams tackles with Edmonton.

But the opening day of free agency was anti-climatic as many of Tuesday's moves had been previously reported Feb. 1 when the CFL's negotiation window opened.

Other transactions included:

— Calgary had the first move of the day, signing American defensive back Devodric Bynum. He played 19 games over two seasons with the Edmonton Elks, registering 40 tackles, five interceptions and one forced fumble.

— Edmonton added American receiver Joe Robustelli, who registered 38 catches for 544 yards and three TDs in 12 games last season with Saskatchewan.

— Saskatchewan signed American defensive lineman James Vaughters and global linebacker Tyron Vrede. The six-foot-one, 256-pound Vaughters had 36 tackles (four for loss), eight special-teams tackles, six sacks and two fumble recoveries (one returned for TD) in 17 games in 2025 with Winnipeg. Vrede spent five seasons with Ottawa.

— Ottawa also added linebackers C.J. Reavis and Brian Cole II, defensive lineman Dylan Wynn, all Americans, global defensive lineman Habakkuk Baldonado and Canadian defensive back Scott Hunter. Reavis had 61 tackles, two sacks an interception and two forced fumbles in 17 regular-season games with Saskatchewan last year, while Hall registered 22 total tackles last year with Hamilton, including 19 on special teams. Wynn spent the past two seasons with Montreal while Baldonado, an Italian, comes East following three years with Saskatchewan. Hunter was with Montreal in 2025.

— Winnipeg signed veteran American defensive back Jonathan Moxey to a two-year deal. He spent the last two years with Hamilton. Before the noon ET start of free agency, the Bombers agreed to terms with linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox, 31, on a one-year deal. The six-foot-two, 240-pound American began his CFL career in Manitoba (2017-18) but was released this off-season following three years with Ottawa (2023-25).

— Veteran American defensive backs DaShaun Amos and Robert Priester both returned to Toronto. Amos was a CFL all-star last season with Hamilton (45 tackles, four interceptions, fumble recovery in 18 regular-season games) while Priester spend 2025 with Ottawa. Both won Grey Cups with the Argos in 2022 and 2024. The club also signed Canadian defensive lineman Jonathan Kongbo, who had a team-high four sacks last season with Edmonton, and American receiver Andre Miller, who played four games with Ottawa in 2025.

— Montreal signed quarterback Dustin Crum and receiver Jerreth Sterns, both Americans, and Canadian offensive lineman Braydon Noll. Crum spent the last three seasons with Ottawa and last year ran for 429 yards and 11 touchdowns. Sterns had 48 catches for 530 yards and four TDs in 14 regular-season games with Winnipeg in 2025. The six-foot-four, 297-pound Noll appeared in 11 games last season with Saskatchewan.

— Hamilton also added Canadian defensive lineman Kene Onyeka, offensive lineman Eric Lofton and receiver Keric Wheatfall, both Americans. Onyeka, 29, played six seasons with Ottawa (2019, 2021-2025) while Lofton, 32 spent the last two seasons with Winnipeg, as did Wheatfall, who had 55 catches for 928 yards and five TDs over that span. The Ticats also signed punter Fraser Masin — taken first overall in last year's Global draft by Calgary — to a two-year contact before the start of free agency.

— B.C. signed defensive back Dawson Pierre and linebacker Maxime Rouyer, both Canadians. Pierre spent the last two seasons with Ottawa while Rouyer has played in 42 regular-season games with the Lions since 2022.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2026.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2026