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Free-agent signee Dejon Brissett brings Grey Cup experience to pass-catching corps
Published May 13, 2026 • Last updated 2 minutes ago • 6 minute read
Dejon Brissett
Receiver Dejon Brissett gets the fans pumped as the Argonauts celebrate their 2024 Grey Cup championship with a rally in Toronto. Photo by Jack Boland /Postmedia
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Dejon Brissett comes to the Calgary Stampeders with a little of this and a little of that.
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The free-agent signee has got the skills to slot in at any receiver position.
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The pass-catcher also has the knowledge and the drive to make a difference.
And the Canadian’s got championship charge after capturing the Grey Cup with the Toronto Argonauts twice in his Canadian Football League career.
Nice catch if you can get your hands on such a talent, which the Stampeders did in the off-season, making Brissett one of their handful of prized acquisitions during the winter.
“It’s been great so far,” said Brissett, during the early days of Stamps main camp at McMahon Stadium. “I feel part of the team. I feel welcome. The guys are pretty cool, and we communicate pretty well.
“I feel like I fit right in.”
The Red and White want him to slot right in as a key contributor in the pass game.
The team lost American hands-man Dominique Rhymes, last year’s leading receiver with 886 yards, to retirement.
It also lost Canadian breakout talent Damien Alford, the top pick in the 2025 CFL Draft, to the NFL’s New Orleans Saints.
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So that meant the need for at least one more set of hands to complement QB Vernon Adams Jr.
“Very impressed with his knowledge base and also his work ethic and his attitude,” said Stamps GM/head coach Dave Dickenson. “I think he’s going to fit in great. And we’re looking for him to be a Stamp for a long time.”
It’s why Dickenson signed Brissett to a two-year deal when the CFL’s free-agency window opened in February.
“Good thing about him was he was playing in Toronto with (head coach) Ryan Dinwiddie,” continued Dickenson. “Obviously, Ryan has changed things for what he does (with the Argonauts), but there’s still a foundation core from when he was part of us here (as quarterbacks coach from 2016-19). So Dejon’s got a really good beat on what we’re trying to accomplish.
“Definitely, it’s very similar to Toronto,” agreed Brissett. “There’s some differences with the words and the positions. But for the most part, it’s pretty much the same thing. So I’m flowing right in.”
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Right in, the Stamps hope, to a year like the one he showcased in 2025, when he topped the Argos’ pass-catching charts with 907 yards on 65 receptions.
“What we want to do is move him around on the field,” Dickenson said. “We want to put him in at wide-out sometimes and in the slot. Use it. Use what he’s best at, and we’re trying to get to know him a little bit. What is he best at, and what are some things that we think he gives us the best option?”
“I would say I’m a jack of all trades,” answered Brissett. “You know… I can play every position — I can play all five. I can stretch the field, get downfield, jump up and go get the ball. I can also block, as well. A little bit everything.
“But I would say probably running down the field and going up and getting it is what I do best.”
Jalen Philpot
The McMahon Stadium field is reflected in the sunglasses of Stampeders receiver Jalen Philpot as he watches the team’s rookie camp practice on May 6, 2026. Photo by Gavin Young /Postmedia
WHO ARE THE RECEIVERS IN STAMPS CAMP?
# Age Ht Wt School
14 Clark Barnes 25 6’1 201 Guelph
84 Reggie Begelton 32 6’1 205 Lamar
17 Dejon Brissett 29 6’1 206 Virginia
87 Erik Brooks 26 5’7 178 Fresno State
18 Rylan Davison* 24 5’10 206 Mercyhurst College
88 Kaylon Horton 25 5’9 169 North Texas
78 Jeremiah Hunter* 24 6’2 202 Washington
81 Vyshonne Janusas 25 5’11 229 Guelph
4 Tevin Jones 33 6’3 222 Memphis
82 Jesulayomi Ojutalayo 22 6’2 212 Wilfrid Laurier
86 Rashod Owens* 24 6’2 226 Oklahoma State
85 Jalen Philpot 25 6’0 203 Calgary
24 Matt Sibley* 22 5’10 190 Calgary
71 Javin Whatley* 23 5’10 172 Arizona
0 Dante Wright* 25 5’9 187 Temple
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* — rookie
Erik Brooks
Stampeders receiver Erik Brooks runs with the ball during training camp practice at McMahon Stadium on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. Photo by Gavin Young /Postmedia
Beyond Rhymes and Alford, the Stamps return a receiving corps with major upside after Jalen Philpot (830 yards), Erik Brooks (824), Tevin Jones (618) and Clark Barnes (601) all showed out in the pass game.
That was without superstar veteran Reggie Begelton, who went down early last season with an ACL tear and is not yet back in action for the Red and White.
But there’s help in the form of a few fresh faces and promising draftees in camp.
Both Matt Sibley and Jesulayomi Ojutalayo fit both categories, with homegrown Sibley joining the Stamps after starring with the Calgary Dinos. And Vyshonne Janusas returns as a 2025 draft pick to improve on a solid debut season.
Back, as well, is returner Kaylon Horton.
However, what any of the newbies truly bring remains to be seen.
Matt Sibley
Receiver Matt Sibley catches a pass Stampeders rookie camp on May 6, 2026. Photo by Gavin Young /Postmedia
MORE ON BRISSETT
The native of Mississauga, Ont., wasn’t just a twice Grey Cup champ. He was also the Most Outstanding Canadian of the 2024 championship game.
Then came his best production last season of a five-year CFL career that’s seen Brissett roll up 136 catches for 1,905 yards and 12 touchdowns — all with the Argos.
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“I played with (Stamps rush-end Folarin) ‘Flo’ (Orimolade) for a while in the other organization,” Brissett said. “Clark Barnes is a Toronto guy from Brampton, so we’ve done some work together.
“And then I worked out with the guys in L.A. in the off-season — got with V.A. and got with other receivers and (running back Dedrick) Millsy (Mills). And we gelled out there. And so we’re just carrying it on to training camp.
“It was very important, I think, to earn the respect of the guys around here and be able to call them by their first name. Getting that chemistry and those relationships is important, and it carries out on the field. We can communicate, and we make it happen.”
Brissett, who was a standout with the NCAA Virginia Cavaliers, was also a contributor on the special-teams units during his tenure in Toronto — with 18 special-teams tackles, eight kickoff returns for 153 yards, four punt returns for 28 yards and a touchdown after recovering a blocked punt.
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But it’s that Grey Cup know-how — and he certainly knows how after making three catches for 45 yards and a TD to earn the top Canadian award in the 2024 finale — that has the Stamps jacked about his arrival.
“I’ve been on two teams that got there and won it, so it’s a process, right?” added Brissett of his Grey Cup experience, which also includes the 2022 title. “And so I’ve just kind of been reinforcing that with the guys — not getting too focused on the end goal but on every single step along the way.
“Teams that finish strong and then start strong and finish stronger, those are teams who usually win. So as a guy who’s done it a couple times, I feel like my job is to reinforce that and be a little more vocal but not step on too many toes as I get myself involved at the beginning. Kind of just watch and listen and then apply myself when needed.”
SHORT YARDAGE
The Stampeders got down to numbers on cut-down day ahead of Wednesday’s practice. They released WR Shaq Davis, WR Jordan Kerley, OL Rodeem Brown, DL Savio Frazier, DL B.J. Thompson, DL Max von Muehldorfer, LB Kaylyn St-Cyr, DB Millard Bradford, DB Corey Coley Jr. and DB Josh Proctor … Main camp continues Thursday with a morning session at McMahon Stadium … The Stamps’ first pre-season game goes against the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Monday at McMahon (1 p.m.) … The second and final pre-season contest for the club is slated for Friday, May 29, against the host Edmonton Elks (7 p.m.).
tsaelhof@postmedia.com
www.x.com/ToddSaelhofPM
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