B.C. Lions sign Rhode Island's A.J. Pena in camp reset
B.C. cut 12 players, but Rhode Island All-American A.J. Pena stayed in the mix, another FCS defender earning a CFL look after an 89-tackle season.
The B.C. Lions didn’t just add three Americans on May 12. They also trimmed 12 players in the same sweep, and that is the part that tells you how thin the margin is in camp. One of the survivors in the pro conversation was Rhode Island defensive lineman A.J. Pena, the kind of FCS defender CFL clubs keep circling because he has already been tested against real schemes, real bodies and real pressure.
Pena gives this move its FCS weight. The Lions listed him as an American defensive lineman, born Aug. 21, 2003, in Montclair, New Jersey, at 6-foot-2 and 243 pounds. He arrived as a free agent after finishing his Rhode Island career with a résumé that already looked pro-ready: 2024 Associated Press first-team All-American, 2024 Stats Perform first-team All-American, 2024 Buck Buchanan Award finalist and first-team All-CAA. He capped his 2025 season with 89 tackles, a number that jumps off the page for an interior or edge defender in the FCS.
That production had already pushed Pena onto NFL radars. Rhode Island said he was invited to Baltimore Ravens mini-camp on April 25, making him the first Ram to land an NFL mini-camp invitation in 2026. For an FCS program with a long defensive reputation in the CAA, that kind of traction matters. It signals that Pena was not a camp flier or a depth add. He was already in the middle of the pro pipeline before B.C. pulled him in.
The Lions’ roster shuffle put Pena alongside Appalachian State receiver Kaiden Robinson and Rhode Island offensive lineman Brock Bethea, while Adonis Alexander, Jhamell Blenman, Marquez Callaway and Tony Jones Jr. were among the players released. It was a clear camp reset, not a one-for-one swap. And in that kind of churn, the FCS angle becomes sharper: if a player from Rhode Island is still standing after a 12-man cut cycle, he has done enough to make a pro staff stop and look twice.
Bethea’s background adds another Rhode Island thread to the transaction, but Pena is the headline for FCS watchers. B.C. is still mining the subdivision for linemen who can handle leverage, assignments and tempo, and Pena fits the profile. At 243 pounds with All-America credentials and an NFL mini-camp invite already on his ledger, he is not just another name on a transaction page. He is another proof point that the next level is still shopping the FCS for defenders who can survive the jump.
Know something we missed? Have a correction or additional information?
Submit a Tip
