As the 2026 season approaches, CFL.ca has a new series making the case for every team as a contender to win the 113th Grey Cup, highlighting three reasons why each club has a path to the championship. The series is not intended to make predictions, but to showcase the strengths and potential routes for each team entering the new campaign.
HAMILTON — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats enter 2026 with unfinished business after falling just short of a Grey Cup appearance last season.
With continuity in their core and some key additions on defence, the Ticats are in perfect position to finally snap their championship drought that dates back to 1999 and bring the hardware back to Hamilton.
1. A GAME AWAY
After securing the top seed in the East Division in 2025, the Tabbies seemed positioned for a Grey Cup run behind an offence that was second in the league in scoring. An Alouettes walk-off field goal ended their campaign in the Eastern Final.
It can be difficult to move on from such a heartbreaking final chapter, but the Ticats enter the new year confident that last season’s return to the playoffs was just the beginning.
“We were a game away, and we didn’t lose a lot of our team,” star receiver Kenny Lawler said during the CFL’s off-season content capture in April. “We got a taste of how close we could get, and now it’s time to take that next step.”
For Lawler, 31, that next step is clear, and he’s seen what it looks like on a team trending upward.
“I remember when I first got to Winnipeg. In 2018, we lost in the Western Final, then, fast forward another year, we win the Grey Cup,” said Lawler, a two-time champion with the Bombers.
“With all great teams,” he continued, “you start to see the trajectory of where the team is headed. And I think our trajectory is clear.”
Progress isn’t always linear, but with an elite offence and an intact veteran core that’s already proven it can contend, the Black and Gold aren’t just knocking on the door – they’re built to break through it.
2. FAMILIARITY FOR BO LEVI MITCHELL
The Ticats will go as far as Bo Levi Mitchell takes them.
Under head coach and offensive coordinator Scott Milanovich, Mitchell has delivered the two most productive seasons of his career. In 2024, his first year under Milanovich, he set a career-high with 5,451 passing yards. He followed that up last season with a career-best 36 touchdown passes, including a league-leading 14 to Lawler.
“That chemistry is just going to grow this year,” said Lawler.
With a third year in Milanovich’s offence and a second alongside Lawler, Mitchell enters 2026 with a level of comfort that will translate to even greater efficiency. If that continuity produces another step forward, Mitchell won’t just be a runner-up in the MOP race like the previous two seasons, he’ll lead it.
3. WYNTON MCMANIS MANNING THE MIDDLE
Wynton McManis signed with the Ticats this off-season after his release from the Toronto Argonauts prior to becoming a free agent (CFL.ca)
Hamilton needed to fill the hole left by East Division Most Outstanding Rookie, Devin Veresuk, who was released to pursue an opportunity in the NFL.
In comes middle linebacker Wynton McManis, a three-time Grey Cup champion who posted 62 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble in just 13 games last season.
After allowing the most yards per game among playoff teams in 2025 and losing contributors in the secondary, the Tiger-Cats’ defence needed a stabilizing presence. McManis brings exactly that, especially against the run where his impact is immediate. With him in Toronto’s lineup last season, the Argonauts allowed 98.4 rushing yards per game, compared to 124.6 without him.
With that security blanket in the run game, edge rushers Julian Howsare and Philip Ossai can attack, forcing hurried decisions and creating turnover opportunities for a secondary that led the league with 27 interceptions in 2025.
“I think that we are a very well put-together team,” said McManis. “We’ve been gelling well, so to me, the sky’s the limit.”
McManis is betting on himself and a Hamilton defence that has the pieces to add to the team’s ceiling.
