’Riders hit the ground running
Rebuilding Roughriders sign top lineman available plus Canadian running back
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, 340pound Dennis was the CFL’s top lineman last seasonafter anchoring a Calgary Stampeders offensive line that allowed a league-low 20 sacks and paved the way for rushing leader Jerome Messam, of Brampton.
“Proud to announce I’ll be a part of @sskroughriders! Thank you to Coach Jones, Jeremy O’Day, and John Murphy for welcoming me to Riderville!” Dennis tweeted.
But Toronto Argonauts defensive lineman Shawn Lemon, who signed with Saskatchewan as a free agent last year but asked to be traded once the season began, didn’t exactly endorse Dennis’s decision. “@6BONECRUSHER3 congrats on making the biggest mistake of your life Sincerely #Lemondrops,’“ he 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. LaFrance ran for 157 yards, a TD and two-point convert in the Redblacks’ 35-23 win over Edmonton in the East Division final before adding 42 yards on 11 carries and six receptions for 31 yards in the club’s 39-33 overtime Grey Cup win over Calgary.
But Jones wasn’t nearly as busy as Desjardins. The GM of the Grey Cup-champion Ottawa Redblacks re-signed offensive lineman Nolan MacMillan — the first player drafted in franchise his- tory — before the start of free agency. 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).
Desjardins lost LaFrance and starting defensive back Abdul Kanneh (Hamilton) and released Canadian kicker Chris Milo and American linebacker Damaso Munoz.
Spencer and Shaw have the daunting task of replacing 1,000-yard performers Ernest Jackson and Chris Williams in Ottawa’s receiving corps. Jackson and Williams were among 16 Redblacks players to hit the open market Tuesday.
Shaw, 25, had 77 catches for 1,004 yards and five TDs last season while Spencer, 24, registered 71 receptions for 706 yards and three touchdowns. Spencer also returned punts and kickoffs with the Argos.
Jefferson joins an Ottawa secondary that’s minus Kanneh, cornerback Mitchell White (Philadelphia Eagles), backup safety Jeff Richards (Carolina Panthers) and defensive back Forrest Hightower (New Orleans).
Bass, 26, recorded 181 tackles, nine sacks, three interceptions and five forced fumbles over two seasons with the Bombers.
All nine teams either re-signed pending free agents or added new faces after the deadline. Rookie Montreal GM Kavis Reed was busy, reportedly adding veteran Ryan Phillips, a free-agent defensive back who was released last week after 12 seasons with the B.C. Lions.