CFL free agency doesn’t get underway until next month but teams looking to bolster their linebacking corps can add a veteran right now as Tre Watson is looking to make a return north of the border.
The 27-year-old played in the CFL for two seasons as a member of the Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Elks in 2021 and 2022 before being granted his release to pursue the XFL as a member of the St. Louis Battlehawks.
Watson and his wife, Aleah, are currently expecting their second child and he believes the CFL is the best option to provide security for his family. He described his tenure in the XFL as a “good experience” but cited the uncertainty surrounding spring football as a reason for a potential return north of the border.
“The whole merger thing with the UFL, obviously that just erased half of the spring football jobs in the U.S., which is drastically different than it was this past year having both the XFL and USFL as options,” Watson told 3DownNation via telephone on Tuesday.
“It just makes sense to say, ‘OK, does [the CFL] make more sense in terms of getting somewhere I can regain my footing if I can be a little more comfortable up there with something that’s not as in flux as it is down here.'”
The six-foot-two, 230-pound defender was Montreal’s day-one starter at middle linebacker in 2022 but was released following two incidents with unnamed personnel. He joined the Elks immediately after his release, though he suffered a torn posterior cruciate ligament during his first start and missed the next eight games.
“It was a freak accident situation, kind of an anomaly,” said Watson. “PCL tears are not very common at all, you don’t really hear much about that. You hear ACL, MCL, stuff like that, so the recovery process for that has been unique because it’s just not a very common injury. Also, being injured to that extent was foreign to me, so I really had to adjust to that and it’s definitely taken some time to figure things out.”
The University of Maryland product recorded 35 total tackles and one sack over 15 regular season CFL games in Montreal and Edmonton. He believes he can be an impact player north of the border but understands that his time away in the XFL means he will have to earn the trust of a new team.
One thing that could work into Watson’s favour is how well Darnell Sankey played following his return to the CFL after winning an XFL championship with the Arlington Renegades. The veteran linebacker joined the Alouettes near the midway point of the 2023 season and helped spark a Grey Cup run led by the team’s dominant defence.
“I did lose my attachment to the CFL by leaving after my second year there, so will I have to prove myself again to some extent? Certainly,” said Watson.
“A multi-year (CFL) deal would be great, but that’s probably not going to be something I can get. I’m probably just gonna have to prove myself. It’s a situation where hopefully someone believes in me enough to say, ‘Hey, we noticed you in the past, we saw that you kept playing in the XFL and were able to show some things there.'”
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