The Toronto Argonauts have signed American defensive back Ciante Evans and American defensive lineman Demarcus Christmas.
Evans played for the B.C. Lions last year, recording 31 defensive tackles and two interceptions over 13 regular-season games, making 11 starts at field-side cornerback and two starts at field-side halfback.
The 32-year-old native of Fort Worth, Texas has been in the CFL since 2015 when he joined the Calgary Stampeders. He spent four seasons with the team, earning two All-West Division selections, one All-CFL selection, and winning one Grey Cup. He has since had two stints with the Montreal Alouettes, winning a Grey Cup in 2023, and spent two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
In total, the five-foot-eleven, 195-pound defender has made 281 defensive tackles, 19 interceptions, and three forced fumbles over 106 regular-season CFL games.
Christmas played 10 games with the Edmonton Elks in a depth role last season, recording nine defensive tackles and one sack. His first CFL stint came with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2022 and 2023, during which time he made 42 defensive tackles and two sacks over 30 regular-season games, making 11 starts.
The 29-year-old native of Bradenton, Fla., was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft but never recorded any regular-season statistics over a three-year NFL career with Seattle and Pittsburgh.
The Argonauts also officially announced the addition of Anthony Lanier II, which was reported by 3DownNation on Tuesday.
Toronto also signed American defensive lineman Atlias Bell. The six-foot-one, 275-pound defender played 37 collegiate games at the University of Houston where he made 83 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, and one forced fumble for the Cougars.
Bell was named All-Conference by Pro Football Focus as a senior and was their fifth-rated edge rusher nationally. The 25-year-old started his collegiate career at Iowa Western where he helped the team to a 10-1 record and a bowl game victory in his second season.
The native of New Orleans, La. had two stints with the Argonauts last year but didn’t see any action during the regular season.
