HAMILTON — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have signed American receiver/returner Mario Alford and receivers Tyson Middlemost and Keric Wheatfall, the team announced on Tuesday.
All three players became free agents on February 10 at noon ET.
Alford, 34, spent the 2025 season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, appearing in 11 games and recording 44 punt returns for 476 yards. The five-foot-eight, 180-pound native of Greenville, Georgia brings seven seasons of CFL experience, appearing in 74 regular season games and totalling 286 punt returns for 3,278 yards and seven touchdowns.
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Alford has played in the CFL with the Toronto Argonauts (2018), Montreal Alouettes (2019–2022), and Saskatchewan Roughriders (2022–2025). He was named to the West Division All-CFL team in 2023 and is a Grey Cup champion with Saskatchewan in 2025. He was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player in 2022 after amassing 38 kickoff returns for 990 yards and two touchdowns, 44 punt returns for 530 yards and one touchdown, along with three missed field goal returns for 129 yards and one touchdown.
His professional experience also includes NFL stints with the Cincinnati Bengals (2015), New York Jets (2016), Cleveland Browns (2016), and Chicago Bears (2017).
Middlemost, 28, spent the 2025 season with the Edmonton Elks, appearing in 15 games and recording five receptions for 34 yards, along with eight special teams tackles. The six-foot-one, 205-pound native of Dundas, Ontario brings five seasons of CFL experience (2021-2025) with the Calgary Stampeders (2021-2024) and Edmonton Elks (2025), appearing in 73 regular season games and totalling 13 receptions for 121 yards, 37 special teams tackles, one forced fumble, and four kickoff returns for 65 yards.
Middlemost was originally selected in the fourth round (34th overall) of the 2020 CFL Draft. Collegiately, he played at McMaster University, appearing in 26 games with the Marauders and recording 83 receptions for 1,032 yards and seven touchdowns.
Wheatfall, 26, brings CFL experience with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2024-2025), appearing in 23 games over two seasons. The six-foot-one, 187-pound native of Brenham, Texas has recorded 55 receptions for 928 yards and five touchdowns.
After going undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft, Wheatfall signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent. His professional experience also includes time with the Philadelphia Stars (2023).
Collegiately, Wheatfall played at Fresno State (2019–2021), appearing in 23 games and recording 55 receptions for 923 yards and five touchdowns, after beginning his collegiate career at Blinn College (2017–2018), where he appeared in nine games and totaled 25 receptions for 375 yards and one touchdown.