Six QB options for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Photo courtesy: Steven Chang/B.C. Lions

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will be without franchise quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell for an extended period of time after he underwent surgery on Monday.

The team’s two backups, Tre Ford and Jake Dolegala, struggled in relief of Mitchell against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sunday. Ford completed three-of-seven pass attempts for 12 yards and one interception, while Dolegala threw two incompletions and took a sack.

The duo is expected to carry the load in Hamilton for the foreseeable future as they’re the only two healthy quarterbacks currently on the roster. However, with a spot now available, the team should add one more before they hit the practice field on Wednesday.

Below are six potential free-agent quarterbacks the team could pursue to help fill the void.

For what it’s worth, 3DownNation has received notes from Tiger-Cats fans asking if Taylor Powell might be available from the Edmonton Elks via trade. Theoretically, any player can be traded at any time, but it seems highly unlikely that will occur here.

Cody Fajardo considered retirement this offseason, which makes having a competent successor all the more critical. Powell made a two-year commitment to the Elks in free agency this winter, so it’d be pretty shocking if the team was willing to trade him away.

In hindsight, Hamilton shouldn’t have let Powell leave in free agency.

The quarterbacks that have been listed below appear alphabetically by last name.

Jarret Doege

The six-foot-one, 210-pound native of Lubbock, Texas completed six-of-eleven pass attempts for 67 over two preseason games with the B.C. Lions, though he ultimately lost out to Chase Brice and Kaidon Salter for the backup jobs behind Nathan Rourke.

Doege played relatively well as a rookie with the Edmonton Elks in 2023 but went 0-3 as a starter with the Toronto Argonauts in 2025, throwing for 905 yards, four touchdowns, and seven interceptions. At 28, he might have the right balance of experience and upside for the Tiger-Cats.

Photo: Gord Weber/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

Max Duggan

The 25-year-old has bounced around the CFL, most recently dressing for two games with the Ottawa Redblacks. He looked relatively sharp in limited action with the Toronto Argonauts in 2025, throwing for 109 yards and a touchdown and rushing six times for 46 yards. Duggan also has an impressive collegiate resumé from his tenure at Texas Christian University, where he was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.

A source told 3DownNation on Monday that the Tiger-Cats have not reached out to Duggan’s camp since Mitchell went down, though that can always change as things develop.

Caleb Evans

The Louisiana at Monroe product looked sharp with the Montreal Alouettes last season before suffering a torn ACL in August. A source told 3DownNation on Tuesday that Evans’ knee has fully recovered and he wants to continue his CFL career.

The dual-threat passer originally came into the league with the Ottawa Redblacks in 2021 and has since thrown for 3,667 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions, and rushed 221 times for 989 yards and 33 scores over 63 regular-season games.

Harrison Frost

The six-foot-one, 194-pound passer spent the last two seasons in Hamilton before departing for the St. Louis Battlehawks, with whom he made three starts in 2026. Frost dressed for 17 regular-season games with the Tiger-Cats in 2024 and 2025 but saw limited action, throwing for 95 yards and one touchdown.

Sources have indicated the 27-year-old is still obligated to the United Football League for now. The timeline for when he could be made available to CFL teams remains unclear.

Photo courtesy: John E. Sokolowski/Ticats.ca

Jeremiah Masoli

The 37-year-old has been a free agent since February but hasn’t officially announced his retirement. He also has strong ties to Steeltown, having spent nearly a decade with the organization. Masoli earned an All-East Division selection in 2018 and almost led the Tiger-Cats to a Grey Cup victory in 2021 after coming off the bench in place of Dane Evans.

Hamilton’s interest in Masoli might be limited based on his play in recent years. He went 0-2 as a starter with the B.C. Lions in 2025, throwing for 538 yards, two touchdowns, and six interceptions. The native of San Francisco, Calif. hasn’t put up good numbers since he left the Tiger-Cats, though that’s due in large part to the slew of injuries he suffered.

Shea Patterson

The University of Michigan standout went 2-4-1 as a starter with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2024, throwing for 1,655 yards, six touchdowns, and five interceptions. He dressed for eight games with the Alouettes last year, losing a late fumble in the Grey Cup.

Patterson only attempted one pass last year but there aren’t many quarterbacks available who have starting experience and a positive touchdown-to-interception ratio.

John Hodge is a longtime Canadian football reporter, insider, and podcaster for 3DownNation. Based in Winnipeg, Hodge is also a freelance television and radio broadcaster and curling reporter for Rock Channel.