Riders Remake Their Defense in a Day
If Day One of CFL free agency was a bit of mixed bag for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, then the second day made it clear the defense has been seriously upgraded.
The catch of the day was Canadian Justin Capicciotti, a defensive end formerly of the Ottawa RedBlacks who was the Riders Plan B if the plan to land Canadian tackle Ted Laurent fell through. Laurent opted to stay with the Hamilton Tiger Cats for apparently less money than what he was being offered, because he liked the organization and the way he was being treated.
Capicciotti is interesting having spent the last two seasons with Ottawa after being drafted by Eskimos. His emergence as a pass rusher came after he was developed by Edmonton and placed in a system where he could succeed in Ottawa. His signing helps the Riders meet a goal of having a Canadian on the defensive line and the Riders have back-up in players like Dylan Ainsworth, Rob Connop and Brandon Tennant.
While Capicciotti could be described as a younger version of Ricky Foley, perhaps the biggest move came when the Riders signed Greg Jones, formerly of the Toronto Argonauts. Jones was the Argos middle linebacker and also played on special teams, and Jones said after day one he was looking for versatile players who could also play special teams.