The Montreal Alouettes have signed American receiver Zakhari Franklin.
The six-foot-one, 190-pound target spent the first four years of his collegiate career at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He was made 262 catches for 3,348 yards and 37 touchdowns over 46 games with the Roadrunners and was twice named first-team All-Conference USA.
The 25-year-old transferred to Ole Miss in 2023 where he made four receptions for 38 yards and one touchdown over four games. He finished his collegiate career at the University of Illinois in 2024 where he caught 55 passes for 652 yards and four scores.
The native of Cedar Hill, Texas signed with the Las Vegas Raiders after going unselected in the 2025 NFL Draft but didn’t see any regular-season action with the team.
The Montreal Alouettes were relatively quiet in free agency, though they still added quarterback Dustin Crum, receiver Jerreth Sterns, and return specialist DeVonte Dedmon. The team also suffered some key losses, including Austin Mack (Edmonton Elks), linebacker Darnell Sankey (B.C. Lions), defensive back Marc-Antoine Dequoy (retirement), and return specialist James Letcher Jr. (Saskatchewan Roughriders).
The Alouettes hold the eighth overall pick in the 2026 CFL Draft, which is scheduled for Tuesday, April 28 at 7:00 p.m. EDT. All CFL training camps are scheduled to open on May 10. The team will play its first preseason game against the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday, May 22 and its first regular-season game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Thursday, June 4.
In 2025, Montreal finished second in the East Division standings with a 10-8 record and beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Final before losing the 112th Grey Cup to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
