The CFL's top-rushing Canadian is returning for another season.
Canadian running back Andrew Harris has agreed to a one-year contract extension with the Toronto Argonauts, according to a CFL source. Harris, 35, was slated to become a free agent Tuesday.
The source spoke on the condition of anonymity as the Argos didn't immediately confirm the extension. Since Sunday, CFL teams have been able to speak with pending free agents.
The five-foot-10, 216-pound Harris ran for 490 yards on 114 carries (4.3-yard average) while adding 23 catches for 180 yards in eight regular-season games last season, his first with Toronto. Harris suffered a torn pectoral muscle in mid-August and was expected to miss the remainder of the season but returned in time for the Argos' 34-27 East Division final win over the Montreal Alouettes.
Harris and the Argos capped their season with a 24-23 Grey Cup victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Harris's former team. Harris ran for 97 yards and a TD on 19 carries in Toronto's two playoff games.
Following Toronto's Grey Cup win, Harris admitted he'd consider retirement in the off-season but now will return for a 13th CFL season.
Harris, a Winnipeg native, helped the Bombers win Grey Cup titles in 2019 and 2021. He also earned a CFL championship in 2010 with the B.C. Lions.
Harris has registered five career 1,000-yard seasons and is the top-rushing Canadian in CFL history with 10,151 yards on 1,903 carries (5.3-yard average) with 51 TDs. He has also recorded 599 all-time catches for 5,403 yards and 32 touchdowns in 184 career regular-season games.
Under terms of the CFL's negotiating window, pending free agents have until noon ET on Sunday to entertain offers from other clubs.
Those proposals — including base salary and incentives — must be registered with the league and CFL Players’ Association. Any submissions made will be considered binding.
When the window closes, teams will have 48 hours to negotiate exclusively with their own potential free agents. The CFL will provide clubs with registered offers that have been made to those players.
Teams will then have until 10 a.m. ET on Feb. 14 to make an offer to their own players, of which a copy must given to both the league and CFLPA.
Following the 48-hour period, the player will have two hours (10 a.m.-noon ET) on Feb. 14 to select any offer made to him. If he accepts one, the chosen team must then inform the CFL.
Should the player turn down all offers, he’ll enter free agency at 12:01 p.m. ET on Feb. 14. Any prior offers will be no longer be available.
Also on Friday, the Saskatchewan Roughriders signed American offensive lineman Eric Lofton. The six-foot-four, 293-pound Lofton spent last season with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, making one start.
Lofton also spent time with the Ottawa Redblacks (2017-18).
Veteran Canadian defensive lineman Ted Laurent signed an extension with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The six-foot-one, 299-pound Laurent returns for a 12th CFL season and ninth with the Ticats.
Laurent, 35, had nine tackles (one for a loss), two sacks and a forced fumble in 18 games (17 regular season, one playoffs) last season with Hamilton. Laurent has appeared in 155 career regular-season games, registering 221 tackles (23 for loss), 50 sacks and eight forced fumbles.
The B.C. Lions signed defensive lineman Woody Baron to a one-year contract extension through 2024. The veteran American would've become a free agent after the 2023 season.
The six-foot-one, 270-pound Baron had seven tackles and a sack in six regular-season games following an early-season ankle injury.
Long-snapper Pierre-Luc Caron of the Montreal Alouettes announced his retirement Friday.
Caron, 29, of Laval, Que., appeared in 97 regular-season games over six seasons with the Als and Calgary, winning a Grey Cup with the Stampeders in 2018. He'll now work as an air traffic controller.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2023.
