B.C. Lions sign veteran CFL QB Jeremiah Masoli

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

The B.C. Lions have signed veteran quarterback Jeremiah Masoli on the first day of CFL free agency.

The 36-year-old started three games for the Ottawa Redblacks last season in place of an injured Dru Brown, throwing for 1,149 yards, five touchdowns, and seven interceptions and rushing six times for 42 yards. He went 1-2 as a starter with a win over Calgary and losses to Saskatchewan and Montreal.

Masoli spent the past three seasons with the Redblacks but dressed for only 16 regular-season games due to injury. He suffered a fractured leg during his fourth start of the 2022 season and tore his Achilles tendon when making his return to the field in 2023. In total, he threw for 2,269 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions in Ottawa.

The five-foot-ten, 225-pound passer was a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 2013 to 2021, earning an All-East Division selection and the East Division’s nomination for Most Outstanding Player in 2018. He dressed for 114 regular-season games with the team, throwing for 15,555 yards, 80 touchdowns, and 51 interceptions.

The native of San Francisco, Calif. missed Hamilton’s Grey Cup appearance in 2019 due to a torn ACL but took over from a struggling Dane Evans in the Grey Cup two years later. He threw for 185 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception and helped push the game to overtime, though the Blue Bombers won at Tim Hortons Field by a score of 33-25.

Masoli played collegiately at the University of Oregon and the University of Mississippi and had a brief stint with the San Francisco 49ers before signing his first CFL contract with Edmonton in 2012. He was traded to Hamilton before recording any regular-season statistics with the Elks.