DaShaun Amos, Jamal Peters together again with Hamilton Tiger-Cats

HAMILTON — Jamal Peters and DaShaun Amos are together again.

The veteran defensive backs reunited this off-season when Amos signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. They were 2022 Grey Cup champions with the Toronto Argonauts.

Amos, a field-side halfback, won another Grey Cup last season with Toronto before signing with Hamilton in free agency. With plenty of gentle persuasion from Peters, a boundary cornerback.

“I didn’t know if there was a chance we’d be able to get him because he’d been with the blue team for so long and what he’d done for that organization,” Peters said. “But being in his ear since the start of the off-season, I just told him what we could do if he came here and was a part of this.

“I know we can chase a championship and do something special here, so it’s a huge piece. He’s like a brother to me.”

A message Amos heard loud and clear.

“He (Peters) is a big (reason) why I signed here,” Amos said. “Being able to look across (the field) and see someone like him helps you play a little looser.

“A player of his calibre helps you be more confident in the room and want to win that much more.”

Amos was also sold on the Ticats (7-11), who missed the playoffs last season but were 3-0 versus Toronto.

“From the very beginning of free agency, Hamilton just showed they wanted me the most,” he said. “They were a few pieces away from having an amazing year last year and I feel like we have the pieces for that this year.

“They’re very community-driven … and that’s something that’s huge to me.”

The six-foot, 190-pound Amos was a ’24 East Division all-star, registering 25 tackles, five interceptions and a defensive TD in all 18 regular-season games. In Toronto’s 41-24 Grey Cup win over Winnipeg, Amos had one of the team’s record-tying four interceptions that were returned for 164 yards, a new game standard.

Amos began his CFL career with Calgary (2018-19, 2021). He was a 2019 West Division all-star and has won three Grey Cups (2018 with Stamps, 2022 and 2024 with Argos).

The six- foot-two, 220-pound Peters enters his second season in Hamilton after starting his CFL career with Toronto (2021-23). Peters, 28, was a 2022 league all-star after registering a career-high six interceptions.

Peters had 41 total tackles and four interceptions in 14 regular-season contests last season.

Hamilton also signed veteran CFL defensive backs Reggie Stubblefield and Branden Dozier in free agency. Stubblefield spent two seasons with Montreal (winning 2023 Grey Cup) while Dozier joins the Ticats after spending time with the Alouettes (2017-18), B.C. (2019) and Calgary (2021-2024).

The newcomers join returnees Destin Talbert (who started at halfback alongside Peters last season) and CFL veterans Jonathan Moxey and Lawrence Woods III.

“Depth is always your friend,” Amos said. “I’ve yet to be on a championship team where we didn’t need depth.

“It’s going to build our room to be the best we can be as individuals and together as a group. You can never have too many.”

Peters is one of the CFL’s top cover corners, which could force teams to look more to Amos’ side of the field. Amos is more than good with that.

“We’ve talked about that since we were first teammates,” Amos said. “My job is to help shut down the field and send the ball his way and his job is to shut down the boundary side and send it back.

“Teams won’t be able to game-plan us and go to just the strong side or the boundary side. They’ll have to deal with us both.”

Brent Monsoon begins his first season as Hamilton’s co-ordinator following 15 seasons with the Calgary Stampeders, the last five as their defensive co-ordinator. He takes over a unit that was ranked last in offensive points (29.3 per game) and offensive TDs (55) allowed.

Monson wants Hamilton’s defence to be aggressive this season. But that will also mean doing so with a short memory because with aggression comes the possibility of being beaten for a big gain.

“First thing is make the play because if we can be perfect, we’re going to be perfect,” Amos said. “That’s the standard and expectation, first and foremost … but in the back end the reality is many of us aren’t perfect and we’re going to give up some.

“But we must have that short memory and be able to reload. They might get the ball down to the one-yard line, but if we can reload and play the next play and get a turnover, it’s like it never happened.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2025.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press