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As general manager Jeremy O’Day predicted Monday, the Saskatchewan Roughriders weren’t too busy on the first day of CFL free agency.
The team signed only one player who spent the 2019 season on a different team: Quarterback James Franklin.
The Roughriders signed middle linebacker Solomon Elimimian and defensive end/special-teamer Jordan Reaves to contract extensions, but they lost offensive linemen Philip Blake and Dariusz Bladek (both to the Toronto Argonauts), defensive tackle Micah Johnson (B.C. Lions) and linebacker Alexandre Gagne (Montreal Alouettes).
Hey, it’s Franklin
The Roughriders announced just before noon Tuesday that Franklin had signed a one-year deal.
Franklin, 28, has played five seasons in the CFL, spending three with the Edmonton Eskimos and the past two with the Argonauts. Toronto released him in the off-season.
In his career, Franklin has completed 378 of 573 pass attempts for 4,305 yards with 23 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. The 6-foot-2, 235-pounder from Oklahoma City, Okla., also has rushed 114 times for 593 yards and 17 TDs.
While Franklin has been a starter in the CFL, he’s more than happy to be the backup in 2020.
“When it comes down to it, there’s a guy at the top and, me coming to Saskatchewan, I know that’s (Cody Fajardo),” Franklin told the Green Zone on Tuesday. “I don’t want to interfere with anything he’s doing. I just want to help out where I can.”
The University of Missouri product joins a quarterback stable that features Fajardo and last season’s backups, Isaac Harker and Bryan Bennett. CFL rookie Justice Hansen was fourth on the depth chart.
The signing also will team up Franklin again with new Roughriders offensive co-ordinator Jason Maas, who was Franklin’s head coach in Edmonton in 2016 and 2017.
“A lot of people assumed that we wouldn’t like each other because we seem opposite, but he’s in my top three favourite coaches of all time,” Franklin said of Maas. “I know he seems intense and everything on the sidelines, but he’s actually really positive and he’s a really hard worker.”
Man in the middle
The Roughriders confirmed Tuesday afternoon they had signed Elimimian to a one-year contract extension.
The 6-foot-0, 225-pounder was eligible to become a free agent Tuesday. The news of his signing was broken before Tuesday morning’s deadline by Justin Dunk of 3downnation.com.
Last season — Elimimian’s first in Saskatchewan — he had 88 tackles, four sacks and a forced fumble en route to being named a West Division all-star.
The 33-year-old product of the University of Hawaii is heading into his 11th CFL season. He was named the CFL’s most outstanding rookie in 2010, the league’s most outstanding defensive player in 2014 and 2016, and the CFL’s most outstanding player in 2014.
He’s a four-time CFL all-star (2011, 2014, 2016, 2017) and a six-time West Division all-star (2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019).
In 118 career regular-season games, Elimimian has recorded 833 defensive tackles, 22 sacks, eight interceptions and eight forced fumbles.
Reaves returns to Riders
The Roughriders announced Tuesday afternoon they had signed Reaves to a one-year contract extension.
The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder missed all of the 2019 season after suffering a knee injury on the second day of training camp.
The 30-year-old Winnipeg product has made 14 special-teams tackles in 22 career regular-season games with the Roughriders.
Money for Micah
According to reports, the Lions gave Johnson a one-year contract worth $200,000.
The 31-year-old defensive tackle from Columbus, Ga., had 26 tackles and four sacks in 15 games with the Roughriders last season. He spent just one season in Saskatchewan after leaving the Calgary Stampeders as a free agent.
In 96 career regular-season games, Johnson has recorded 184 tackles, 45 sacks, two interceptions and six forced fumbles.
The @sskroughriders have one of the best fan bases in the world! So fun playing there! Loved my teammates! Crazy supportive Community! With that being said I wasn’t offered a Contract by the riders…life goes on! Excited to be a @BCLions !!
— micah johnson (@yours_truly4) February 12, 2020
Heading home
Gagne, a 28-year-old from St-Hubert, Que., signed with the Roughriders as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Sherbrooke in 2017.
A fullback, linebacker and long-snapper, Gagne appeared in 36 regular-season games over the past three seasons and recorded 43 special-teams tackles.
Standing on guard for Toronto
Bladek was selected by Saskatchewan in the second round (11th overall) of the 2017 draft. The 25-year-old out of Kissimmee, Fla., dressed for 45 regular-season games for the Roughriders, primarily as their sixth O-lineman.
Blake played 11 regular-season games for the Roughriders over the past two seasons. The 34-year-old Toronto product joined the Roughriders in October of 2018 after a trade with the Alouettes.