The Saskatchewan Roughriders signed star linebacker Solomon Elimimian from the British Columbia Lions on Thursday. Elimimian was surprisingly released by the Lions on April 30 after being the franchise leader in tackles with 745.
One of the most talented defensive players to have ever played in the Canadian Football League, Elimimian has played with the Lions since 2010. His accolades include being a CFL All-Star in 2011, 2014, 2016, and 2017, a Grey Cup champion in 2011, the CFL’s most outstanding player in 2014 and the CFL’s most outstanding defensive player in 2016 and 2017.
In 2017, Elimimian set the CFL record for most tackles in a season with 144. Ironically, he broke his own record that he previously set with the Lions (143 tackles) in 2014.
Also in Elimimian’s career, he has frequently got to the quarterback. He has 29 career sacks. Elimimian has created many turnovers as well. He has eight career interceptions and eight career forced fumbles.
There is no doubt that former Roughriders head coach and general manager Chris Jones would have loved the opportunity to have Elimimian on his defense. However he does get that opportunity because Jones joined the Cleveland Browns as a senior defensive specialist on January 15. In fact one could argue that the signing of Elimimian by current Roughriders general manager Jeremy O’Day was more impressive than any of the acquisitions Jones made as the Roughriders general manager from 2016 to 2018.
