Tiger-cats Sign All-star Defensive Tackle Laurent To A Two-year Contract  

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced Wednesday that the football club has signed national free agent defensive tackle Ted Laurent to a two-year contract. As per club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Ted has been a huge part of our defence the last two seasons and was a priority for our club as free agency opened on Tuesday,” said Tiger-Cats Vice-President of Football Operations, General Manager and Head Coach Kent Austin. “He is a complete player that is able to defend against the run and collapse the pocket on the quarterback. We’re extremely excited to have one of the best players in the league back in Hamilton.”

Laurent, 28, was named a CFL All-Star for the second consecutive season in 2015. The 6-1, 303-pound native of Montreal, Quebec posted 26 defensive tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in 17 games, while adding five defensive tackles and four sacks in two playoff games. He was also named the Tiger-Cats Most Outstanding Canadian for the second time in as many seasons and earned his third Divisional All-Star nod last year.

In 81 games during his five-year CFL career with the Edmonton Eskimos (2011-13) and Tiger-Cats, Laurent has compiled 123 defensive tackles, 23 sacks, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. The University of Mississippi product was originally selected by the Eskimos in the 2011 CFL Supplemental Draft in exchange for a second round pick in the 2012 CFL Draft.