Photo courtesy: Bob Butrym/RFB Sport Photography

The Toronto Argonauts are still working to re-sign arguably their most important pending free agent in Wynton McManis.

“He’s a guy that we have been in negotiations with for quite a while. He’s obviously been a leader on our team, and we do desire to have him in the double blue, but again, we are working to it. It hasn’t happened yet, so we’ll continue to work towards that point,” general manager Mike ‘Pinball’ Clemons said from the CFL’s offseason winter meetings on Monday.

“His agent actually left me a message on (Sunday), as a matter of fact, and so hopefully we’ll get something done with him sooner than later. With the other free agents that are out there, we are working to see who we can get signed back because as we look at it now, February is not far away.”

The 31-year-old missed five regular-season games due to injury in 2025 but still had a productive season, making 62 defensive tackles, four sacks, two interceptions, and one forced fumble. The six-foot-one, 235-pound defender has been with the Argonauts since 2022, earning two All-CFL selections and helping the team win two Grey Cups.

The Argonauts recently re-signed Isaac Darkangelo, leading to speculation that he could be taking over the starting job at middle linebacker from McManis. The 25-year-old started the five regular-season games in 2025 and was highly productive, recording 60 defensive tackles, 22 special teams tackles, four forced fumbles, and two sacks.

McManis is one of 3DownNation’s top remaining free agents. The native of Memphis, Tenn. has made 390 defensive tackles, 52 special teams tackles, 16 sacks, nine interceptions, four forced fumbles, and three touchdowns over 100 career regular-season CFL games with the Calgary Stampeders and Argonauts.

CFL free agency is set to get underway on February 10 with the communication window opening on February 1. Some of Toronto’s other top free agents include receivers Dejon Brissett and DaVaris Daniels, defensive lineman Anthony Lanier II, strong-side linebacker Branden Dozier, and returner Janarion Grant.

The Toronto Argonauts finished third in the East Division standings in 2025 with a 5-13 record, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019. Franchise quarterback Chad Kelly was unable to play all season due to a fractured leg he suffered in the East Final the previous year, giving way to Nick Arbuckle, who threw for 4,370 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions to be named the team’s candidate for Most Outstanding Player.

The Argonauts ranked seventh in net offence, sixth in net defence, and seventh with a turnover differential of minus-eight. The club’s leading rusher was Spencer Brown with 314 yards, leading receiver was Dejon Brissett with 907 yards, and leading tackler was Cameron Judge with 79 tackles. Toronto ranked ninth in attendance with average crowds of 15,109, which was a 0.1 percent decrease from the previous year.