Tiger-Cats Acquire 5th Round Pick in 2027 CFL Canadian Draft in Trade with Alouettes

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced today that the football club has acquired a fifth-round pick in the 2027 CFL Canadian Draft from the Montreal Alouettes in exchange for American defensive lineman Julian Howsare and a seventh-round pick in the 2027 CFL Canadian Draft.

Howsare, 34, has spent seven of his nine CFL seasons with the Tiger-Cats after originally joining the club in 2018. The 6-3, 255-pound defensive lineman has appeared in 98 regular season games with Hamilton, earning East Division All-CFL honours in 2022 and 2025. After spending two seasons with the Calgary Stampeders, Howsare returned to Hamilton in 2025 and registered a career-high 13 sacks along with 43 defensive tackles, one interception, one touchdown and two forced fumbles. His standout 2025 campaign earned him All-CFL honours and a nomination for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player.

“Julian Howsare has meant a great deal to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, both as a player and as a person,” said Orlondo Steinauer, President of Football Operations. “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. Thank you, Julian.”