Jaelen Gill to make first CFL start for Hamilton Tiger-Cats against Redblacks

Photo: Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Photo edit: 3DownNation.

American receiver Jaelen Gill will make his first career CFL start when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday night. The team published its official depth chart on Thursday morning.

The 26-year-old has spent the entire season to date on Hamilton’s practice or reserve rosters. He has previously been a member of the Los Angeles Chargers, Cleveland Browns, and San Antonio Brahmas, though this will be his first career regular-season professional game.

The native of Westerville, Ohio finished his collegiate career at Fresno State in 2023, where he made 49 catches for 516 yards and six touchdowns over 13 games.

Gill previously played at Boston College, where he made 80 receptions for 1,092 yards and two touchdowns over 32 matchups, and Ohio State, where he caught seven passes for 51 yards and one score over eight games.

The five-foot-eleven, 189-pound target will start in place of Keric Wheatfall, who has been placed on the one-game injured list (ankle).

Philip Ossai and Isaiah Bagnah are listed as the two starting defensive ends, as Julian Howsare was traded to the Montreal Alouettes on Tuesday. Ossai has recorded 36 defensive tackles, two tackles for loss, seven sacks, one forced fumble, and one pass knockdown through 15 regular-season games, while Bagnah has tallied seven defensive tackles and two special teams tackles.

De’Jon Benton is also listed as a starter over defensive tackle Charbel Dabire, who started last week’s game. The rookie out of the University of Hawaii has recorded one defensive tackle through three regular-season games in 2026.

In other moves, Hamilton has placed Canadian linebacker Jayden Griffiths on the practice roster, activated Canadian offensive lineman Jonathan Denis from the reserve roster, and promoted American defensive lineman Brian Ugwu from the practice roster. Denis and Ugwu are both listed in depth roles.

The Tiger-Cats were eliminated from postseason contention following last week’s loss to the Edmonton Elks.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4-11) will visit the Ottawa Redblacks (0-14) on Friday, October 2 with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The Tiger-Cats were eliminated from playoff contention following last week’s loss to Edmonton, while the Redblacks continued their winless season against Calgary.

The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS2 in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on the Ticats Audio Network in Hamilton or TSN 1200 in Ottawa.

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