The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have released Canadian defensive lineman Kwaku Boateng.
The 28-year-old signed with the club in February after missing all of last season with a torn Achilles he suffered in training camp with the Ottawa Redblacks. He did not dress for the club’s season-opening loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, though he appears to have been healthy as he was not listed on Hamilton’s injury report.
The six-foot-two, 260-pounder was selected in the fifth round of the 2017 CFL draft by the Edmonton Elks. He spent four seasons with the team, recording 83 total tackles, 25 sacks, and one forced fumble in 64 career games.
Boateng’s breakout year came in 2018 when he earned a starting role and recorded nine sacks to receive the team’s nomination for Most Outstanding Canadian. He followed that up with eight sacks in 2019.
Prior to his CFL career, Boateng was a two-time U Sports All-Canadian at Wilfrid Laurier. He played an integral role in the team’s 2016 Yates Cup championship, which was the program’s first since 2005. Boateng is the Golden Hawks’ career sack leader.
The Ticats also released American defensive lineman Nyles Pinckney and signed American running back and receiver Tyreik McAllister and American defensive lineman Jarrod Hewitt.
McAllister went unselected in the 2022 NFL Draft but signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent and spent part of last year on their practice roster. The five-foot-eleven, 180-pound 25-year-old played 38 games over five seasons at the University of Charleston (2017-21) and recorded 355 carries for 2,561 yards and 26 touchdowns along with 113 receptions for 1,047 yards and four touchdowns.
Hewitt spent two seasons on the practice roster with the Seattle Seahawks after signing with the club as an undrafted free agent. The six-foot-one, 280-pound native of Venice, Fla. played 45 games over four seasons at Virginia Tech (2017-20) and made 92 total tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.
The Ticats (0-1) will visit the Toronto Argonauts (0-0) on Sunday, June 18 with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT.
