The BC Lions ended their season on Saturday — whether Amar Doman liked it or not — with a 24-21 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Western final.
Despite this, the first season under head coach Buck Pierce and general manager Ryan Rigmaiden was overall successful. British Columbia was one of the hottest teams in the CFL throughout, improving its record by two wins, securing a home playoff win, and finishing first just shy of the Gray Cup.
The Lions already have several key players under contract for next season, including their MOP finalist quarterback Nathan Rourke, MODP finalist pass rusher Matthew Betts and two-time All-CFL wide receiver Justin McInnis. However, most of the rest of the roster will need new deals in the coming months, not the least of which is the league's leading receiver Keon Hatcher.
Here's the full list of 27 players whose contracts expire in February. Note that “N” denotes citizens (i.e. Canadians), “A” denotes Americans, and “G” denotes global citizens.
Defender
Chase Brice (A)
Jeremiah Masoli (A)
running back
James Butler (A)
defender
Riley Pickett (N)
Recipient
Aiden Eberhardt (A)
Keon Hatcher (A)
Offensive line
Dejon Allen (A)
Jarell Broxton (A)
David Foucault (N)
Andrew Pearson (N)
Chris Schlager (A)
Defensive line
Nathan Cherry (n)
Jonah Tavai (A)
Sione Teuhema (B)
Midfielder
Adam Auclair (N)
Isaiah Guzylak-Messam (n.)
Ben Hladik (N)
Adam Konar (N)
Maxime Royer (c)
Josh Woods (A)
Protective back
Edwards-Cooper Milestone (A)
Joshua Hagerty (N)
Ronald Kent Jr. (A)
TJ Lee (A)
Harry Peters (A)
Specialist
Shaun White (N)
Kyle Nelson (N)
It is worth noting that players who finish the season on the practice squad automatically become free agents. This means running back Jordan Terrell (A), receivers Isaiah Winstead (A) and Hergie Majala (A), offensive linemen Alex Berwick (N), Tyran Hunt (A) and Brandon Yates (A), defensive lineman Anthony Bennett (N), linebackers Jeremy Lewis (A) and Devin Richardson (A), defensive back Marquise Bridges (A) and kicker Ross Bolger (D) are free to join any other team.
