Roughriders off and running in CFL free agency
Saskatchewan signs Derek Dennis, top offensive lineman in CFL in 2016
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have made a big splash so far in CFL free agency.
A 340-pound lineman will do that.
Just a few hours after the free agent market was open for business, the Riders sold Derek Dennis on Saskatchewan.
Judging by Dennis's tweet on Monday, just hours before his contract with the Stampeders expired, that was no easy task.
I'm sorry yall but when's last time you could pay bills with Wins? I got family to feed this business never personal
—@6BONECRUSHER3Dennis made it perfectly clear in the Twitter universe that he would go where the money is.
Winning (as in Calgary) doesn't pay the bills, apparently.
Chris Jones decided the best way to utilize his available salary cap space was to spend it on the 28-year-old international left tackle from Temple University.
Proud to announce I'll be apart of <a href="https://twitter.com/sskroughriders">@sskroughriders</a>! Thank you to Coach Jones, Jeremy O'day, and John Murphy for welcoming me to Riderville!
—@6BONECRUSHER3Dennis has played just one full season in the CFL, starting all 18 games for the Stampeders last year, protecting Bo Levi Mitchell's back side while blocking for league leading rusher Jerome Messam.
That was enough to earn Dennis the most votes as the most outstanding offensive lineman in the CFL.
But did Mitchell and Messam make Dennis look good, or was it the other way around?
We will find out soon enough in 2017.
Jones, who holds most decision-making titles in the Roughriders organization, did not exactly make all the right moves a year ago.
It looked impressive enough at first.
A group shot including Kendial Lawrence, Curtis Steele, Otha Foster, Greg Jones, Ed Gainey, Justin Capicciotti, Shamawd Chambers and earlier, Shawn Lemon, looked like a big win for the Riders in free agency.
But of those eight players, only two — Jones and Gainey — remain.
Most fell out of favour in Chris Jones's forgettable debut season in Saskatchewan.
Shawn Lemon, however, wanted out just one week into the schedule and was hastily traded to Toronto, where he excelled, finishing tied for second in the league in sacks.
For the record, Lemon tied with John Chick, another player deemed expendable by Chris Jones.
Clearly, the bitter taste of Saskatchewan in Lemon's mouth hasn't been rinsed away in one off-season.
On Twitter, after the Dennis signing was announced, Lemon offered a tongue-in-cheek congratulations to the big left tackle.
<a href="https://twitter.com/6BONECRUSHER3">@6BONECRUSHER3</a> congrats on making the biggest mistake of your life Sincerely <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lemondrops?src=hash">#Lemondrops</a> 🍋
—@SLemonatorOn Tuesday, the Roughriders also announced the signing of free agent national running back Kienan LaFrance.
LaFrance was drafted by the Ottawa Redblacks in the sixth round in 2015.
In 16 regular season appearances last year, LaFrance had 37 carries for 163 yards, while adding 12 receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown.
The University of Manitoba product broke out during the East Division final, where he racked up 157 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.
He then followed it up with 42 yards on 11 carries and six catches for 31 yards, as the Redblacks won the 2016 Grey Cup.
Lets see what day two of CFL free agency brings. It was Chris Jones's busiest day a year ago.