The Montreal Alouettes made a flurry of transactions on Sunday, including bringing back veteran defensive end Avery Ellis.
Ellis began the 2022 season with the Alouettes, collecting 18 defensive tackles and four sacks in nine games. He was traded to the Edmonton Elks in August in exchange for fellow pass rusher Thomas Costigan and cornerback Nafees Lyons.
The six-foot-two, 250-pound lineman suited up in seven more games with the green and gold, recording 16 tackles, three sacks and one forced fumble. He was released by the team a week before the opening of training camp.
The 28-year-old has made 162 tackles, 24 sacks, three forced fumbles, and one touchdown over 73 career games with the Elks, Alouettes, and Ottawa Redblacks.
The Alouettes also signed a pair of American rookies, defensive end Kivon Bennett and linebacker Chris Moore.
Bennett, the son of three-time NFL All-Pro linebacker Cornelius Bennett, began his collegiate career at the University of Tennessee. He played 28 games over four seasons, collecting 52 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks, but was dismissed from the program following an arrest in December 2020. Bennett later plead guilty to simple possession and unlawful possession of a firearm, serving probation.
The six-foot-two, 241-pound pass rusher transferred to Arkansas State and would go on to play two successful seasons with the team. In 23 games, he amassed 108 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles, earning second-team All-Sun Belt honours in 2021 and third-team in 2022.
Moore attended training camp with the Toronto Argonauts but was released as part of the mandatory roster cutdown on May 17. He played 22 games over two seasons at Georgia State and made 104 tackles, 5.5 for loss, one sack, one interception and one forced fumble.
Prior to GSU, the six-foot, 210-pound defender played three seasons at the University of Virginia, tallying 97 tackles, four for loss and one interception in 28 games for the Cavaliers.
In a corresponding move, Montreal released four American rookies, including running back Jerry Howard Jr., receiver Tyshaun James, and defensive backs David Rivers and Jeremy Webb.
