CFL teams get busy signing free agents

Chris Jones and Marcel Desjardins highlighted an eventful opening day of CFL free agency.

Jones, the Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach/GM, landed one of the most coveted free agents in Derek Dennis. The six-foot-three 340-pound Dennis was the CFL’s top lineman last season after anchoring a Calgary Stampeders offensive line that allowed a league-low 20 sacks and paved the way for rushing leader Jerome Messam.

“Proud to announce I’ll be apart of @sskroughriders! Thank you to Coach Jones, Jeremy O’day, and John Murphy for welcoming me to Riderville!” Dennis tweeted.

Shoring up the offensive line is one of many off-season priorities for Jones, who posted a 5-13 record in his first season with the Riders. Saskatchewan’s offence ranked last in points (19.4 per game) and secondlast in rushing (74.2) and sacks allowed (57). Yet that didn’t deter Dennis. “Just looking at the overall roster, at the O-linemen on the team and at the need, I think I can be a good complement to what the Riders are trying to build and help them be a competitive team in the West,” Dennis told the Riders’ website. “Out of all the offers I had on the table, for a team willing to compete for a Grey Cup this season and next, I think Saskatchewan was my best option.”

Saskatchewan also signed Canadian running back Kienan LaFrance, who spent the last two years with Ottawa.

But Jones wasn’t nearly as busy as Desjardins.

The GM of the Grey Cupchampion Ottawa Redblacks re-signed offensive lineman Nolan MacMillan — the first player drafted in franchise history — before the start of free agency. Once the noon ET deadline passed, Desjardins went about changing the look of his team by adding linebackers Khalil Bass (Winnipeg) and Ron Omara (Hamilton), receivers Kenny Shaw and Diontae Spencer and defensive back A.J. Jefferson (all Toronto) and defensive back Adam Berger (Calgary).

It was an active opening day as all nine teams either resigned pending free agents or added new faces after the deadline. Other moves included:

— Running back/returner Kendial Lawrence returned to Edmonton as a free agent. Lawrence spent 2014-15 with the Eskimos before splitting last season between Saskatchewan and Hamilton. The club also signed defensive back Andrew Lue and fullback Alexandre Dupuis, both Canadian free agents.

— Calgary signed receiver Marquay McDaniel and defensive lineman Micah Johnson to extensions. McDaniel was the Stampeders’ leading receiver last season with 83 catches for 1,074 yards and four TDs in 16 games. Johnson started 17 games last year and registered career highs in tackles (36) and sacks (seven).