{"id":453141,"date":"2026-02-04T11:03:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T11:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/453141\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T11:03:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T11:03:15","slug":"argos-release-veteran-linebacker-wynton-mcmanis-ahead-of-free-agency-winnipeg-free-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/453141\/","title":{"rendered":"Argos release veteran linebacker Wynton McManis ahead of free agency \u2013 Winnipeg Free Press"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>TORONTO \u2013 Wynton McManis is on the open market.<\/p>\n<p>The Toronto Argonauts released the veteran middle linebacker Tuesday, a week ahead of the start of CFL free agency. McManis, 31, was set to become a free agent next week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe harsh reality of professional football is that our sport is marked by constant change,\u201d Toronto general manager Mike Clemons said in a statement. \u201cI do my best to appreciate each and every player that walks through the door, but some players are just different.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/d06536a5c5faacab2d587dc7f31b56bbe1674d3c8cddff1e1c3a9926658aa55c.jpg\" data-pswp- data-pswp-width=\"1024\" data-pswp-height=\"702\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/d06536a5c5faacab2d587dc7f31b56bbe1674d3c8cddff1e1c3a9926658aa55c.jpg\" alt=\"Winnipeg Blue Bombers wide receiver Jerreth Sterns (89) fumbles the football as Toronto Argonauts linebacker Wynton McManis (48) looks on during first half CFL football action in Toronto on Saturday, July 26, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Nathan Denette\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWinnipeg Blue Bombers wide receiver Jerreth Sterns (89) fumbles the football as Toronto Argonauts linebacker Wynton McManis (48) looks on during first half CFL football action in Toronto on Saturday, July 26, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Nathan Denette<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey leave an indelible mark on your life \u2014 and Wynton McManis fits that mould. A two-time Grey Cup champion in Double Blue, Wynton represented a championship standard both on the field and as a leader in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hamilton would appear to be the likeliest destination for McManis, who lives in Toronto year-round and has a daughter and son. The Tiger-Cats have a definite need at middle linebacker after Canadian Devin Veresuk signed this off-season with the NFL\u2019s Indianapolis Colts.<\/p>\n<p>A CFL source requesting anonymity told The Canadian Press shortly after McManis\u2019s release to \u201clook for\u201d the two-time CFL all-star to land in Hamilton.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n<p class=\"frequency\">Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n<p>On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a class=\"email-subscribe-link button the-warmup inline-block-logged-in\">Sign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/theWarm-up-tile.jpg\" alt=\"Sign up for The Warm-Up\"\/><\/p>\n<p>McManis had 62 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble in 15 regular-season games last season. The Memphis, Tenn., native spent four CFL campaigns with the Argos (2022-25), helping them win Grey Cups in 2022 and 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The six-foot, 220-pound McManis began his CFL career with Calgary (2017-19), winning his first Grey Cup with the Stampeders in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>McManis has 390 tackles, 52 special-teams tackles, 16 sacks, nine interceptions and four forced fumbles while scoring three defensive touchdowns in 100 career regular-season CFL games.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are so grateful for his contributions, and while we\u2019re sad to see him go, we wish him nothing but the best in the next chapter of his career,\u201d Clemons said.<\/p>\n<p>This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2013 Wynton McManis is on the open market. The Toronto Argonauts released the veteran middle linebacker Tuesday,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453142,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-453141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}