Alouettes acquire veteran defensive lineman Julian Howsare from Tiger-Cats
The 34-year-old defensive lineman joins Montreal ahead of the CFL trade deadline, along with a 2027 seventh-round draft pick.
MONTREAL — The Montreal Alouettes acquired veteran American defensive lineman Julian Howsare from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Tuesday, one day before the CFL trade deadline.
Montreal also secured a 2027 seventh-round pick from Hamilton in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round selection.
“We just acquired an all-star player who is capable of giving opposing offences a hard time,” said Alouettes general manager Danny Maciocia. “Julian knows the league, and we are extremely pleased to have acquired his services.”
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Maciocia said the 34-year-old will be valuable as the team enters the final stretch of the season.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Alouettes (11-3) also signed veteran American defensive lineman Dylan Wynn, who spent the last two seasons with Montreal before attending the Ottawa Redblacks training camp in May.
The six-foot-three, 255-pound Howsare had 32 tackles, one tackle for loss, four sacks and three pass knockdowns in 15 games this season with Hamilton.
He recorded a career-high 13 sacks, 43 tackles, one interception and two forced fumbles in 2025, a season that earned him All-CFL honours and the East Division’s nomination for Most Outstanding Defensive Player.
Howsare has played seven of his nine CFL seasons with the Tiger-Cats, rejoining the franchise in 2025 after two campaigns with the Calgary Stampeders.
“Julian Howsare has meant a great deal to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, both as a player and as a person,” Orlondo Steinauer, Hamilton’s president of football operations, said in a statement.
“Across two stints with our organization, Julian gave us everything we asked of him and more, and was a true professional in every sense of the word. We have tremendous respect for Julian and know he’s going to do great things in his next chapter.”
The Tiger-Cats (4-11) were officially eliminated from playoff contention following last week’s 37-35 overtime loss to the Edmonton Elks.
According to a report from 3DownNation, Howsare is among the CFL’s highest-paid defensive linemen and is still owed a little over $15,000 in salary on a deal worth $170,000 in hard money, plus up to $12,500 in awards incentives.
Over 133 career regular-season CFL games, Howsare has tallied 271 defensive tackles, six special teams tackles, 49 sacks, 13 pass knockdowns, five forced fumbles, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one touchdown.
The native of Altoona, Pa., is a Clarion University alumnus and has been named to the East Division All-Star Team twice, in 2022 and 2025.
The CFL trade deadline is set for Wednesday at 4:59 p.m. EDT.
Montreal hosts the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7-7) on Saturday night with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT.
With files from The Canadian Press, Sportsnet and Montreal Alouettes