A gruelling practice ends on one of the few hot and sunny days this spring, and Adrian Tracy soon wraps Ryker Mathews in a bear hug so tight it's as if he's trying to prevent him escaping town.

Which, metaphorically, the defensive end was. But no worries there; the massive offensive tackle actually asked to come back to Hamilton, and likely took a little less money to rejoin Tracy and a slew of other Tiger-Cat returnees than he could have earned in Toronto, Saskatchewan or Winnipeg, the other CFL teams which courted him over the past week.

"Familiarity is one of the biggest things and you have to kind of weigh out how much that's worth in contract negotiations," said the Utah native, who left Hamilton to spend five months on the roster of the NFL's New England Patriots, was released and then had workouts with the Arizona Cardinals, Washington Redskins, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers, who also gave him a look at a mini-camp.

"I told my agent, and Shawn (Burke, the Ticats' co-manager) from the get-go that I wanted to be here. So we talked for a few days back and forth, trying to figure things out, and it worked out great.

"It was more than just a business relationship. We talked as friends. Like I said, that's the biggest reason I wanted to come back."

It's a trifle surprising that Mathews, who started 17 regular-season games and two in the post-season at right tackle for the Ticats last year and was generally outstanding, didn't get longer stateside scrutiny.

But the Ticats will take the windfall, thank you very much. In the last 18 days they've acquired three certain-as-daybreak starters in the trenches: defensive tackle Dylan Wynn and Mathews' bookend tackle, Canadian Chris Van Zeyl — the multiple all-star who will play right while Mathews moves to left.

"I got in Saturday and within 15 minutes he was giving me pointers, about plays, what to look for," Mathews said of Van Zeyl. "A veteran like that ... you listen to every little thing you can."

When both six-foot-six tackles stand up at the same time, it's going to be a little difficult for opposing defensive ends to locate exactly where Jeremiah Masoli has gone.

Mathews actually began his tenure in Hamilton at left tackle but when Tony Washington arrived after being cut by Edmonton in August 2017, Mathews swung over to right. He also played mostly on the left side through his college career, and regularly transferred from left to right during his NFL stints. Mathews says it takes him only a day to get used to reversing the footwork and play-call terminology.

Head coach Orlondo Steinauer says the Ticats will break Mathews back in slowly, but there's no doubt he's the guy. That moves everyone else — including returnees Kelvin Palmer, Avery Jordan and Isame Faciane — down a notch in the depth chart.

Mathews was asked what he had seen on the field Sunday during his first practice session.

"Quite honestly? Grey Cup, there's nothing else to say," he said. "We have all the pieces. At this point, the sky's the limit. The Grey Cup is what our expectations are."

That's six months and a whole bunch of forks in the road away, but the Ticats have to like what their front office has been piecing together.

Notes: Centres Mathieu Girard and Mike Filer are still sidelined with injuries but Steinauer isn't worried about long-term problems for either. It's made for a Ticat rarity, though, in an American taking big reps in the middle. Demetrius Rhaney has 33 games in the NFL, including one start as a centre. ... Receiver Luke Tasker has a foot injury and the Ticats aren't rushing him back into action. ... Mathews was in the same Pittsburgh mini camp as Ticat top draftee Jesse Gibbon, who's been playing both guard and tackle to get more all-round experience.

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