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The Saskatchewan Roughriders added another piece to what they hope is a Grey Cup puzzle on Tuesday with the signing of non-import defensive end Ricky Foley.

“Feels amazing,” said Foley on donning Green & White for the first time during his introductory media conference on Tuesday. “I heard the reputation about Saskatchewan being a great organization, being good to the players and the fans are second to none, but then you come here and you experience it, it's amazing.”

Foley's signing wasn't expected, but rumours started flying on Monday that the 2012 Grey Cup's Top Canadian was in Regina and about to strike a deal with the Riders. 

The signing might come as a surprise after general manager Brendan Taman stated a few weeks ago that Foley wasn't expected to fit into the team's finances. A phone call by head coach Corey Chamblin changed all that though.

Riders head coach Corey Chamblin talks about the team's most recent signing.

“I called Brendan one morning after I went back and looked at film and said that Ricky's worth it and he's going to bring some things to this team,” explained Chamblin. “He's going to be a good piece to the puzzle that we have here.”

The Roughriders weren't the only team looking for Foley's services as he says there were about four teams that he was deciding between before signing here in Saskatchewan. “The difference came down to a personal touch,” stated Foley. “It's hard to leave Toronto, it's a hometown, but they've made me feel at home here and Coach Chamblin, Coach Hall and Mr. Taman all made me feel like I was really wanted out here.

“Coach speaks about everything being a piece to the puzzle and once I started to evaluate things and had the opportunity to come here, we have a lot of veteran leadership coming in, we've won rings and we're going to make sure we demand to play hard every play.”

Ricky Foley gives his reaction to being a Rider.

That will be the expectation of Foley when he comes in as Chamblin pointed to his no quit attitude as the attribute he's most excited about. “Ricky can do a number of things for us,” said Chamblin. “It's a plus to have the ratio for him, but I think he's a good football player and he brings attitude. He has attitude, he has passion, he has a blue collar work ethic and he doesn't have a quit factor.”

Foley had a successful end to his tenure with the Toronto Agronauts in winning the Grey Cup, but it wasn't always rosy for the 2009 CFL Most Outstanding Canadian as he struggled to produce at the levels he had when winning that award with the BC Lions. Foley had 12 sacks in 2009, but finished with just ten in three years in Toronto.

“One of the things I've learned as I've matured as player is that I was a little bit too focused on the numbers in that being my success in the past,” said Foley. “I know I'm a better player than I was in 2009 and I don't think I've had a chance to show that in the last few years and I'm looking forward to showing that I'm a better player next year for the Riders.”

Chamblin is expecting Foley to get his production back up to an All-Star level this season in Saskatchewan. “He has a lot of potential left in him, he definitely has the passion and desire and I don't think he's played his best football yet,” said the second-year head coach.

The Riders weren't expected to be an active team during free agency after adding Geroy Simon via trade before the dealing period opened. That changed on day one as the team continued to overhaul their roster ahead of next year's Grey Cup.

“This is a little bit more than I envisioned,” said Chamblin. “We've done a good job of bringing some quality guys in and it's exceeded my expectations. We've been very fortunate this offseason to get guys that fit into that mold for us to become a stronger team and a stronger defence.”