Dan Ralph
Canadian Press Published on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008 7:04PM EST Last updated on Monday, Mar. 30, 2009 3:03PM EDT
Reggie Hunt is a Montreal Alouette.
A source requesting anonymity told The Canadian Press on Tuesday the veteran linebacker has joined the Alouettes as a free agent. Contract terms were not immediately available.
Hunt, 30, spent last season helping the Saskatchewan Roughriders win the Grey Cup. The six-foot, 220-pound Hunt appeared in 17 games last season and was third on the team in tackles with 62 but was tied for second in sacks with six.
Hunt had spent the first six seasons of his CFL career with Saskatchewan. He was a four-time West Division all-star ( '03, '04, '06, '07) and a CFL all-star in 2003.
Hunt earned $125,000 last season and was looking for a new deal worth about $140,000. That made him too rich for the Riders' blood, who would've liked to have him back in '07 but not at that price.
Hunt became a free agent at 12:01 ET on Saturday, but wasn't involved in the initial flurry of signings. Tackle Dan Goodspeed, the East Division's top lineman last season, re-signed with Winnipeg hours before the free-agent deadline.
Then on Saturday, rush end Tom Canada — another Bomber regarded as one of the top players in this year's free-agent pool — also re-signed with Winnipeg, as did starting offensive lineman Matt Sheridan.
The Alouettes figured they had free-agent linebacker JoJuan Armour signed Saturday, but the former Hamilton Tiger-Cat turned down more money from Montreal and backed out of his verbal agreement Monday to sign with the Calgary Stampeders.
Alouettes defensive lineman Dario Romero also turned down a more lucrative offer from Montreal to sign on in Edmonton as a free agent.
Early in free agency the popular talk was that Hunt would find his way to Winnipeg. That's because the Bombers plan to shift linebacker Cam Hall back to safety — his college position — to fill the vacancy created by the departure of Kyries Hebert (NFL's Cincinnati Bengals).
However, the possibility was quickly dashed when the Bombers re-signed Goodspeed, Canada and Sheridan all to lucrative six-figure deals. Adding another in the form of Hunt would've made it very difficult to get all four new deals under the CFL's $4.2-million salary cap.
Hunt, whose younger brother Aaron plays for the B.C. Lions, played his college football at Texas Christian University, where he earned all-WAC honours as safety and kick returner in his senior season. He still holds the school's single-season record with a 34.1-yard kickoff return average.
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