Montreal Alouettes sign DL Shawn Lemon and release DL Nick Usher

The Montreal Alouettes signed defensive lineman Shawn Lemon and released defensive lineman Nick Usher on Sunday.

Shawn Lemon is six foot one and weighs 242 pounds. The 34-year-old from Waldorf, Maryland, signed with the Lions in February before he was released on May 22, 2023. In 2022, Lemon made 29 tackles, 14 sacks, and five forced fumbles for the Calgary Stampeders. He was named a CFL West All-Star and CFL All-Star in 2022. Lemon played two seasons in Calgary with 55 tackles, 22 sacks, and seven forced fumbles in 28 games.

Lemon began his CFL career on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers practice squad in 2011. Later, he signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and played one game in 2011.

Afterward, Lemon had stints with the Orlando Predators (AFL) and Sioux Falls Storm (IFL) in 2012 before returning to the CFL in 2012 with the Edmonton Eskimos. He played 12 games with 15 tackles, six sacks, and one forced fumble.

In 2013, Lemon signed with the Calgary Stampeders. He played two seasons in Calgary with 44 tackles, 16 sacks, one interception, and eight forced fumbles in 24 games. He is a member of the 2014 Grey Cup championship team.

After Calgary, Lemon left and signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers and later the San Francisco 49ers but returned to the CFL in 2015 signing with the Ottawa Redblacks. He made 13 tackles, six sacks, and three forced fumbles in nine games. He was named a CFL East All-Star after the 2015 season.

In 2016, Lemon returned to Saskatchewan for his second stint. He played one game with one forced fumble before he was traded to the Toronto Argonauts. In Toronto, he made 22 tackles, 14 sacks, and four forced fumbles in 16 games. After the season, he signed a contract extension.

During the 2017 season, Lemon made 18 tackles, eight sacks, and one forced fumble in 12 games helping the Argonauts win the 105^th Grey Cup. It was Lemon’s second Grey Cup championship.

Lemon began the 2018 season in Toronto playing five games with five tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble before he was traded to the B.C. Lions. He played 13 games with 17 tackles and ten sacks for the Lions. In 2019, he returned to Toronto as a free agent with 15 tackles and one sack in four games before he was again traded to the B.C. Lions. Lemon made 19 tackles, eight sacks, and three forced fumbles in ten games for the Lions.

Collegiately, Lemon played four seasons at the University of Akron (2007-10) with 102 tackles (53 solo, 49 assists), 23 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, one pass breakup, six forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries in 41 games for the Zips. In his final season, Lemon made 39 tackles, seven sacks, one pass breakup, three forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries in 12 games.

Nick Usher is six foot four and weighs 256 pounds. The 28-year-old from Los Angeles, California, had five tackles and one sack for the Alouettes in 2023. In 2022, Usher had 29 tackles and three sacks in 13 games.

Usher was in his third season with Montreal after signing with them on February 9, 2021. In his first season, he made 35 tackles, five sacks, and one forced fumble in 14 games.

Before Montreal, Usher signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2017. Then, he signed with the New England Patriots shortly after Seattle released him. He played one preseason game for New England but was released at the end of training camp.

After New England, Usher signed with the Edmonton Eskimos. He played two seasons in Edmonton with 46 tackles (43 DT, 3 ST), seven sacks, and four forced fumbles in 26 games, of which 16 were starts.

He was released by Edmonton to sign with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020 but he suffered an injury during training camp and was released. After Las Vegas, he signed with Montreal.

Collegiately, Usher played four seasons at the University of Texas-El Paso (2013-16) with 179 tackles (89 solo, 90 assists), 23.5 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and two blocks in 49 games for the Miners. He was an All-Conference USA Honorable Mention in 2015.