Mass layoffs are an annual reality in pro football and the CFL had theirs on Saturday night, as all nine franchises were forced to trim their rosters down to regulation size ahead of the 10:00 p.m. deadline.
That has left 187 players looking for work, among them a number of recognizable names. You could almost make a competitive team just from the players cast aside on cutdown day, so I went ahead and gave it a try!
The rules of this project were simple: make a 45-man roster using only players who were handed their walking papers at the deadline. Pre-existing free agents like Adam Bighill and mid-camp cuts like Shea Patterson were ineligible, as were any players placed on the practice roster, retired list, or suspended list. All eligible players were assumed to be fully healthy but because I am an absolute sucker for punishment, the team had to be ratio-compliant. That meant seven Canadian starters, at least 20 total Nationals on the roster, and one Global player all had to be included.
Generally, I leaned toward established players or draft picks instead of rookie hot takes, but this was no easy task. You can call them whatever you like — the Atlantic Schooners, the Quebec City Cast-Offs, or the Saskatoon Not-Good-Enoughs — but I proudly present the CFL cutdown day dream team.
‘A’ denotes American players, ‘N’ denotes Canadian players, and ‘G’ denotes Global players. All starters are marked with an asterisk.
Quarterback: Cameron Dukes (A)*, Logan Bonner (A), Jonathan Sénécal (N)
What it lacks in arm talent, this group makes up for in real-world starting experience. While Dukes may have been jumped over and cast aside in Toronto, he did spend nine games as their starter last season and kept the eventual Grey Cup champs afloat. As unspectacular as it was, Bonner also has a CFL start under his belt and will be a viable backup. Sénécal will handle our short-yardage duties and could be utilized in some athletic packages while we develop the former Hec Crighton Trophy winner into our QB of the future.
Running back: Ka’Deem Carey (A)*, Walter Fletcher (A), Joey Zorn (N)
This team will need a work-horse running back to make up for its many flaws and Carey provides that. It certainly never hurts to have an East Division all-star coming off a 1,000-yard season and a Grey Cup win. Adding Fletcher to the mix really challenges our ratio, but the former Alouette was the best receiving back in the league last year with over 700 yards through the air. He’ll be a valuable change of pace weapon and will have to handle return duties as well to justify his spot. Zorn was a prolific ball carrier for Windsor and had some preseason special teams production, which could prove important.
Fullback: Bruno Labelle (N), Jacob Plamondon (N)
Neither of these choices is particularly sexy, but they’ll both provide value on special teams. Labelle can play on the line or from the backfield, and we’ll cross our fingers that he can finally live up to the hype he had as a prospect. Plamondon gives us the added bonus of being able to play defensive line, which is by far the weakest position on our team.
Receiver: Alexander Hollins (A)*, Cam Echols (A)*, Maurice Ffrench (A)*, Rysen John (N)*, Luther Hakunavanhu (N)*, AK Gassama (N), Brayden Misseri (N)
When healthy, Hollins is an all-star calibre deep threat and he can provide some dynamism to our offence. Echols has proven himself to be a reliable starter and will see a lot of targets. Ffrench flashed in four games with Edmonton back in 2023 but has been quiet since, so we’ll look to recapture his peak. John and Hakunavanhu both bring size to the table as Canadian starters, while A.K. Gassama has all the receiving talent to contribute as a backup but none of the frame. While I typically chose draft picks for any depth additions, Misseri had some highlights as an undrafted player with Saskatchewan and is the only remaining option with a solid enough frame for special teams.
Offensive line: Josh Donovan (A)*, Brandon Kemp (A)*, Nick Jones (A)*, Dre Doiron (N)*, Domenico Piazza (N)*, John Kourtis (N), Daniel Hocevar (N)
Donovan gives this team a stalwart right tackle that we can hang our hat on, while Kemp has some previous experience as a starter on the left side. Jones started five games for Saskatchewan last year and will fill one of our guard slots in a three-American front. Doiron and Piazza can play any of the five positions but the two fifth-rounders will get the nod at guard and centre respectively as the highest-drafted Canadians available. Kourtis is a natural centre who can play guard and Hocevar has tackle experience if needed.
Defensive line: Kail Dava (N)*, Reece Martin (N)*, Juliano Falaniko (A)*, Eric Black (A)*, Ronheen Bingham (A), Nate Martey (N)
We have no choice but to start a pair of unproven Canadians at defensive tackle in Dava and Martin, both because of ratio necessity and because there are no compelling alternatives. Both were touted coming out of college but have underwhelmed early in their careers. The defensive end spot is similarly shakey, with a couple of rotational special teamers in Falaniko and Black being forced to step up. Bingham backs up after playing just one CFL game, while eighth-round rookie Nate Martey knows how to plug an interior gap if nothing else.
Linebacker: DQ Thomas (A)*, Jordan Herdman-Reed (N)*, Justin Herdman-Reed (N), Mike Smith Jr. (A)
This team’s box isn’t even made of cardboard — it’s just construction paper and scotch tape. Thomas is the most experienced American available and will start on the weak side after playing a rotational role for Hamilton last year. In the middle, we’ll throw it back to 2018 and start Canadian veteran Jordan Herdman-Reed, with his twin brother Justin backing it all up. The last spot in a painfully thin position group goes to Mike Smith Jr., who got a ton of run with the B.C. Lions this preseason.
Defensive back: Bryce Cosby (A)*, Ciante Evans (A)*, Marcus Lewis (A)*, Dexter Lawson Jr. (A)*, Kenyon Reed (A)*, Will Sunderland (A)*, Jordan Perryman (A), Daniel Amoako (N), Ronan Horrall (N), Jake Nitchoruk (N)
To be frank, there were teams last season who played with worse secondaries than this. Cosby was very productive in 2024 for Montreal and is a natural fit at strong-side linebacker. Ciante Evans gives us a veteran leader at halfback with multiple all-star selections under his belt. Lewis and Sunderland both have starting experience at cornerback, while Lawson has played a bunch and should be able to slot in at the other halfback. I’ll shove Reed to safety as the most productive player remaining and keep Perryman around as a fill-in man with decent special teams production. Because this team is lean on linebackers, the bulk of our kick coverage units will have to be DBs. Amoako is a versatile veteran Canadian, Horrall was a stud on the teams at UBC, and Nitychoruk has enough size to roll down into the box if we are desperate.
Specialists: Eric Maximuik (N), Josh Green (G), Ian Leroux (N)
Our ratio requires that we go Canadian at kicker and the undrafted rookie Maximuik as the biggest available leg, even if he only kicked PATs this preseason. Green wins the race to the bottom to fill our mandatory Global slot as the punter and Leroux snags the long-snapper job as a former fourth-round draft pick.
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