Photo: Reuben Polansky/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have signed veteran American returner Mario Alford.
Alford played in 11 regular-season games with the Saskatchewan Roughriders last season. He registered 44 punt returns for 476 yards and 31 kick-off returns for 876 yards with one touchdown. In the 112th Grey Cup win, No. 2 recorded three kick-off returns for 92 yards and three punt returns for 29 yards.
The 34-year-old played 18 regular-season games with the Green and White in 2024, returning 79 punts for 801 yards, 45 kickoffs for 1,077 yards and one touchdown, and four missed field goals for 187 yards.
Alford holds the Riders’ franchise record for most career return touchdowns with nine, while tying the records for the most punt return touchdowns in a season (three) and game (two). He was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player in 2022 and All-West Division in 2023.
The five-foot-eight, 180-pound speedster has recorded one carry for 10 yards, nine catches for 77 yards, 286 punt returns for 3,278 yards, 197 kickoff returns for 4,771 yards, 15 missed field goal returns for 580 yards, and scored 12 total touchdowns over seven seasons with Toronto, Montreal, and Saskatchewan.
Prior to coming north, the Greenville, Ga. native was a seventh-round, 238th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals out of West Virginia University. He spent one year with the team, then had stints with the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, and Chicago Bears while earning $665,950 USD in the NFL.
Pending CFL free agents were able to communicate with teams around the league from February 1 to 8, during which time contracts could be negotiated and agreed upon but not signed. Starting Tuesday, February 10, at noon EST, players can officially change teams.
Hamilton finished first in the East Division standings in 2025 with an 11-7 record, though the team lost the East Final to the Montreal Alouettes. Bo Levi Mitchell led the CFL with 5,296 passing yards, 36 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions after starting all 18 regular-season games, earning the East Division’s nomination for Most Outstanding Player.
The Tiger-Cats ranked third in net offence, eighth in net defence, and first with a turnover differential of plus-ten. The team’s leading rusher was Greg Bell with 1,038 yards, leading receiver was Kenny Lawler with 1,443 yards, and leading tackler was Stavros Katsantonis with 69 tackles. Hamilton ranked fourth in attendance with average crowds of 22,858, which was a 3.9 percent increase from the previous year.