Training camp 2025

[Hambone]

The biggest question for me heading into camp is how the Lions will deploy their talent in the secondary and linebacking corps. LB Josh Woods, who is recovering from knee surgery, answered part of that question in an interview with Vicki Hall published today at cfl.ca, saying he plans to report to camp in Kamloops next week but doesn’t expect to be ready to step on the field until sometime this summer. That leaves Americans Micah Awe and Mike Smith and nationals Ben Hladik and Adam Auclair as the top veteran contenders for starting roles.

https://www.cfl.ca/2025/05/01/josh-wood ... age-month/

That puts the signing of Awe more into perspective. Regardless I still don't quite get the release of Eley.

[David]

I was a little unclear myself. I thought Eley was very good last year, in his first season getting meaningful reps. That said, I believe the club is really high on Mike Smith Jr. By all accounts, staff was really impressed with the late-season signing and Awe provides more speed and athleticism (insurance for Woods?).

RP said that it's going to be a competitive camp, and that they will be going with the "12 best." If that means moving guys around (half-joking(?) about moving Peters to SAM), so be it.

JC Abbott was asked about the Leos drafting. (Paraphrasing here): Likes Findlay a lot but questions the need, as we already have an up-and-coming safety in Beaulieu. NOTE - I believe the club plans to have Findlay play special teams right away so it's not an urgent decision. Abbott said the club boasts National depth but that could change in a pinch, as evidenced by Ottawa a few years ago. Thought we could have drafted more O-linemen early (e.g. in place of Harris. Again, he didn't see the need there). Likes Klassen but isn't as high on Doiron and Berwick as others are.

I disagree. When a player of Findlay's stature and pedigree is sitting there (well, we actually traded up but he was still available MUCH later than expected) you have to go for it. Our current MO is to deploy Nationals in non-traditional places, so it's not as urgent for us to start 3 or 4 Nationals along the Oline. Just my opinion.


DH

[B.C.FAN]

According to the CFL transactions page, the Lions have released second year safety Charlie Ringland, who spent half of his rookie season on the practice roster. They must be expecting second-round draft pick Jackson Findlay to take his place.

[Hambone]

I disagree. When a player of Findlay's stature and pedigree is sitting there (well, we actually traded up but he was still available MUCH later than expected) you have to go for it. Our current MO is to deploy Nationals in non-traditional places, so it's not as urgent for us to start 3 or 4 Nationals along the Oline. Just my opinion.


DH

The deeper in the draft you get the thinner the hairs you're splitting over 8 or 10 player blocks of prospects. Dropping 8 spots in the 4th to gain 3 in the 2nd is a good value move, especially if you really like a particular prospect and believe he'll be gone before your slot.

[David]

According to the CFL transactions page, the Lions have released second year safety Charlie Ringland, who spent half of his rookie season on the practice roster. They must be expecting second-round draft pick Jackson Findlay to take his place.

I suspect this has something to do with drafting Findlay. Perhaps Mgt believes that Ringland just doesn't fit into the club's plans at safety. If so, better to release him now and allow him the chance to catch on elsewhere.

Was more surprised to see that NFL vet Victor Bolden Jr. has been deleted from the roster. That was short-lived! Really disappointing as I thought he could possibly start at WR and/or K/P returner.



DH

[Qman]

According to the CFL transactions page, the Lions have released second year safety Charlie Ringland, who spent half of his rookie season on the practice roster. They must be expecting second-round draft pick Jackson Findlay to take his place.

I suspect this has something to do with drafting Findlay. Perhaps Mgt believes that Ringland just doesn't fit into the club's plans at safety. If so, better to release him now and allow him the chance to catch on elsewhere.

Was more surprised to see that NFL vet Victor Bolden Jr. has been deleted from the roster. That was short-lived! Really disappointing as I thought he could possibly start at WR and/or K/P returner.



DH

Come on, bolden hasn’t played in over a year and is already 30. He had no chance of making this roster. They have too many returners to look at and it was a wise choice to not waste anyone’s time.

[Qman]

I was a little unclear myself. I thought Eley was very good last year, in his first season getting meaningful reps. That said, I believe the club is really high on Mike Smith Jr. By all accounts, staff was really impressed with the late-season signing and Awe provides more speed and athleticism (insurance for Woods?).

RP said that it's going to be a competitive camp, and that they will be going with the "12 best." If that means moving guys around (half-joking(?) about moving Peters to SAM), so be it.

JC Abbott was asked about the Leos drafting. (Paraphrasing here): Likes Findlay a lot but questions the need, as we already have an up-and-coming safety in Beaulieu. NOTE - I believe the club plans to have Findlay play special teams right away so it's not an urgent decision. Abbott said the club boasts National depth but that could change in a pinch, as evidenced by Ottawa a few years ago. Thought we could have drafted more O-linemen early (e.g. in place of Harris. Again, he didn't see the need there). Likes Klassen but isn't as high on Doiron and Berwick as others are.

I disagree. When a player of Findlay's stature and pedigree is sitting there (well, we actually traded up but he was still available MUCH later than expected) you have to go for it. Our current MO is to deploy Nationals in non-traditional places, so it's not as urgent for us to start 3 or 4 Nationals along the Oline. Just my opinion.


DH

Note that Findlay is 21/22 , mostly cfl draft is 24 yr olds. This a more future pick, who can play specials now. We already have Beaulieu (25) and Rene (27) who are capable cdn dbs.

[David]

According to the CFL transactions page, the Lions have released second year safety Charlie Ringland, who spent half of his rookie season on the practice roster. They must be expecting second-round draft pick Jackson Findlay to take his place.

I suspect this has something to do with drafting Findlay. Perhaps Mgt believes that Ringland just doesn't fit into the club's plans at safety. If so, better to release him now and allow him the chance to catch on elsewhere.

Was more surprised to see that NFL vet Victor Bolden Jr. has been deleted from the roster. That was short-lived! Really disappointing as I thought he could possibly start at WR and/or K/P returner.



DH

Come on, bolden hasn’t played in over a year and is already 30. He had no chance of making this roster. They have too many returners to look at and it was a wise choice to not waste anyone’s time.

Yet he attended Nate's mini-camp in North Vancouver. Why would he have gotten the invite to attend if he had "no chance of making this roster"?

All starters were there (Hatch, McInnis, Berryhill, Eberhardt plus local guys like Poissant and Rysen John).

Also:

“Victor’s a great fit in this offence and as a returner on special teams,” said general manager Ryan Rigmaiden.

“He’s an explosive player that’s had success in the NFL and UFL. We’ve been tracking him a long time and are happy to have him.”

DH

[Hambone]

According to the CFL transactions page, the Lions have released second year safety Charlie Ringland, who spent half of his rookie season on the practice roster. They must be expecting second-round draft pick Jackson Findlay to take his place.

I suspect this has something to do with drafting Findlay. Perhaps Mgt believes that Ringland just doesn't fit into the club's plans at safety. If so, better to release him now and allow him the chance to catch on elsewhere.

Was more surprised to see that NFL vet Victor Bolden Jr. has been deleted from the roster. That was short-lived! Really disappointing as I thought he could possibly start at WR and/or K/P returner.



DH

Come on, bolden hasn’t played in over a year and is already 30. He had no chance of making this roster. They have too many returners to look at and it was a wise choice to not waste anyone’s time.

Likely a case of letting the process play out. Eventually all teams get to where they have a full offseason roster, often before they've finished holding their free agent camps. To add another new recruit is to let an earlier signing go.

[Hambone]

I was a little unclear myself. I thought Eley was very good last year, in his first season getting meaningful reps. That said, I believe the club is really high on Mike Smith Jr. By all accounts, staff was really impressed with the late-season signing and Awe provides more speed and athleticism (insurance for Woods?).

RP said that it's going to be a competitive camp, and that they will be going with the "12 best." If that means moving guys around (half-joking(?) about moving Peters to SAM), so be it.

JC Abbott was asked about the Leos drafting. (Paraphrasing here): Likes Findlay a lot but questions the need, as we already have an up-and-coming safety in Beaulieu. NOTE - I believe the club plans to have Findlay play special teams right away so it's not an urgent decision. Abbott said the club boasts National depth but that could change in a pinch, as evidenced by Ottawa a few years ago. Thought we could have drafted more O-linemen early (e.g. in place of Harris. Again, he didn't see the need there). Likes Klassen but isn't as high on Doiron and Berwick as others are.

I disagree. When a player of Findlay's stature and pedigree is sitting there (well, we actually traded up but he was still available MUCH later than expected) you have to go for it. Our current MO is to deploy Nationals in non-traditional places, so it's not as urgent for us to start 3 or 4 Nationals along the Oline. Just my opinion.


DH

Note that Findlay is 21/22 , mostly cfl draft is 24 yr olds. This a more future pick, who can play specials now. We already have Beaulieu (25) and Rene (27) who are capable cdn dbs.

Also of note is that Findlay comes to the CFL at 21/22 with 41 games of USport action under his helmet while Beaulieu arrived last year at 24 with 29 games at Laval. Apparently one of the things that blew Lions management out of the water was the maturity Findlay displayed in those ever so important interviews at the combine.

[B.C.FAN]

Ryan Rigmaiden made some interesting comments in his pre-camp interview Monday, and spoke about the three biggest positional battles he expects to see.

1. He said the SAM position, which the Lions refer to as nickel, will likely go to a rookie. He was non-committal about second-round draft pick Jackson Findlay competing for that position, but said he will likely get on the field in some packages.

2. He repeated his assertion that George (Anu) Una will get every opportunity to win the right guard spot ahead of David Foucault.

3. He said Michael Couture will battle Tyler Packer and Andrew Peirson for the starting centre position.

Rigmaiden also said he has been in contact with the Buffalo Bills about 11th overall draft pick Hayden Harris, and doesn't expect to see him before fall.

And he said in addition to MLB Josh Woods still recovering from injury, free-agent LB Adam Auclair is battling a shoulder injury. Both players are expected in Kamloops but won't be full participants in camp. He said Micah Awe and Ben Hladik are proven veteran LBs but the team is also high on Mike Smith and Devin Richardson, and they'll both be given a chance to compete.

[SammyGreene]

MThanks for the link BC FAN. Rigmaiden is a great interview. Stops short of throwing around dollar figures for players but is very candid about where they need to be better.

Couture getting a little bit of the Marcus Sayles treatment. Re-signs in February for less money than his previous deal and the GM now says his position will be one of the interesting battles in training camp. Packer and Pierson could easily be in contention for guard spots too. Lions should be dressing 2 back-up o-linemen anyways if Buck's offence is similar to what he did in Winnipeg with a fullback seldom used.

Will Rene even be considered for nickel (SAM)? Sure doesn't sound like it.

Shaping up to be quite the battle to replace Terry Williams as the team's top returner with Jermaine Jackson, Jason Huntley and Juwan Manigo all considered excellent candidates.

[Hambone]

Looking at the roster as it currently sits there are 106 players.with for some reason Jackson Findlay being missing. As best as I can tell there are 8 non-counters with Findlay when added being 9. Also I think they are allowed to exclude 2 injured vets from counters. With that in mind Woods and presumably Auclair can be exempted when main camp opens. That means 11 players will have to be dropped prior to main camp opening. Camp no-shows or failures to pass medicals, all of which happen, could take care of a few of those decisions.

[Hambone]

Couture getting a little bit of the Marcus Sayles treatment. Re-signs in February for less money than his previous deal and the GM now says his position will be one of the interesting battles in training camp.

I think the situations between Couture and Sayles are different. I think Sayles position as camp opened was fairly secure. However he would go on to spend most of camp riding the stationary bike which opened up a ton of 1st unit reps for some rookies. Results may have been different after Sayles was released than were shown during camp but while he was pedaling away on the bike the likes of Kent and Perryman were out on the field making play after play. It was their play plus Sayles high salary that led to the change. Unless Couture gets hurt early in camp he'll be there going rep for rep against his competition.

[Qman]

MThanks for the link BC FAN. Rigmaiden is a great interview. Stops short of throwing around dollar figures for players but is very candid about where they need to be better.

Couture getting a little bit of the Marcus Sayles treatment. Re-signs in February for less money than his previous deal and the GM now says his position will be one of the interesting battles in training camp. Packer and Pierson could easily be in contention for guard spots too. Lions should be dressing 2 back-up o-linemen anyways if Buck's offence is similar to what he did in Winnipeg with a fullback seldom used.

Will Rene even be considered for nickel (SAM)? Sure doesn't sound like it.

Shaping up to be quite the battle to replace Terry Williams as the team's top returner with Jermaine Jackson, Jason Huntley and Juwan Manigo all considered excellent candidates.

Rene was exposed last year at HB and SAM, he is a backup / special teamer now at 27. They have two rookie American safeties signed, who normally are right body type for SAM. I guess size wise Williams could play there too. Worse case they could bring in TJ lee.

Returner is between Jackson and Huntley judging how much Rigmaiden has spent talking about them. Others are just camp bodies.

Couture is at no risk, just because there is no real competition. Expect peirson to make roster cause he is closest comp to mackie hback blocking spot.

It’s fish or cut bait on Bemiy, packer, una, cherry, tiede on entry level deals but could not make the 45 last year for most games (some every game)