O-lineman Dennis released
Derek Dennis is surprised to be on the market after spending just one season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
“I am, because I was under the impression that it wasn’t going to happen,’’ the 29-year-old offensive lineman said Thursday.
“It’s part of the business and I understand the logic behind it. I’m looking forward to the future and moving on.”
Dennis expected to be with the Riders for the long term after signing a three-year contract on the opening day of the CFL’s 2017 free-agency period.
He was among the league’s mostcoveted free agents after being named the CFL’s most outstanding offensive lineman in 2016 while with the Calgary Stampeders.
Yet, the Roughriders announced his release on Tuesday. The move saved the Riders the approximately $180,000 in salary that Dennis was due in each of the final two years of his contract.
“They say it was the salary cap, but it could have been for other reasons,” Dennis said from his home in Phoenix, Ariz. “I felt that it wasn’t a good fit, personality wise, for that coaching staff and me.
“(I was) coming from Calgary and the structure there was a lot of change and adjustment. I felt I wasn’t a good fit for what the Riders were doing.”
Dennis started the 2017 season at left tackle, but was shifted to left guard as part of a domino effect after centre Dan Clark was injured. Dennis remained at guard, partially due to the emergence of Bruce Campbell at left tackle.
“(Dennis) was one of the higherpriced guys in the league at his position,” Riders head coach and general manager Chris Jones said. “It was just one of those deals where it wasn’t going to fit in with what we were doing.”
Dennis believed he would get a chance to atone for a disappointing 2017 season.
“You would think, with a threeyear pact, that they would give you another year to improve,” he said. “If I had a bad year this year, then I would understand getting cut in the last year of the deal. They changed their mind on me at the last second, and that’s fine.”
The timing of his release makes it difficult for Dennis because many teams have already spent their free-agent budget.
“I was hoping they would do it earlier so I would get a chance to get my bearings together before free agency started,’’ Dennis said. “Being released an hour or two into it puts me into a bind.’’
Dennis is prepared to take a pay cut if that is what is required.
“I’ve talked to a lot of teams and they don’t think that I’m a bad player,’’ he said. “They just chalk it up to me being in a bad system.
“Everybody knows that I may not have fit into Jones’ system, and that’s the reality of it.”
Dennis is looking to land a job for the 2018 season.
“I’ve had a handful of teams phone me,” he said. “I’m just trying to figure it out, because I want to do what’s best for my family and take care of my son. I also want to get into a situation where the coach is clearly behind me.
“This is how I feed my family, at least until I start a regular life. Right now, it’s just a matter of going some place and showing people that I’m the same guy that I was in 2016.”