Hamilton Tiger-Cats 2010 Off-Season Overview
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ 2009 season ended in heartbreak as they were knocked out of the CFL’s East semifinals by the B.C. Lions in a 34-27 overtime victory. The loss in the team’s first playoff game in five seasons was a disappointing end for the fans, to what had been an exciting first year under head coach Marcel Bellefeuille.
One of the stated priorities in the off-season was to bolster the team’s secondary. In March, the Tiger-Cats acquired defensive back Jerome Dennis in exchange for linebacker Dennis Haley. They also brought in free agent defensive backs Will Poole and Jason Shivers – both players with NFL experience.
Kevin Glenn had a solid season in leading Hamilton to the playoffs last season, and the team made moves in the off-season to provide him with more weapons. This included shipping defensive back Chris Thompson to Edmonton in exchange for wide receiver Maurice Mann, an explosive player who 917 yards receiving and 10 TDs last season. The Tiger-Cats also swapped wide receivers with Saskatchewan, sending Prechae Rodriguez packing for Adam Nicolson and the rights to a kick return/wide receiver rumored to be former Miami Dolphins player Chris Williams.
Other off-season moves made by Hamilton included releasing veteran offensive lineman Dan Goodspeed and signing former All-Star offensive lineman Jason Jimenez, most recently with the B.C. Lions. The team also released starting kicker Nick Setta, whose shaky season almost cost the Tiger-Cats a playoff spot. He will be replaced by Sandro DeAngelis, who was named Most Valuable Canadian while helping Calgary win the Grey Cup in 2008.