He's coming here to win. Geroy Simon was introduced to the media and Rider Nation on Monday after being dealt to the Saskatchewan Roughriders from the BC Lions on Thursday last week.
“I'm ready to work and this is a football decision,” stated Simon during his media conference in the Riders' locker room on Monday. “I'm excited to start the process and win. That's what it's all about, is winning.
“I'm not here for the camera and taking pictures, I'm here to win. This is a young team with a lot of talent, a great coaching staff and I'm looking forward to being here and contributing and helping win.”
Simon did his fair share of winning during his time with the BC Lions, whether it was individually as a six-time all-star and one-time CFL Most Outstanding Player, or the two Grey Cup Championships he won there.
He says it was hard to leave the Lions, but the right move, “There's no hard feelings there, but in the end it was the right decision. The easy thing would have been to sign back with BC, but I probably would have been miserable and maybe I wouldn't perform at the highest level.
“I never thought that I would leave BC and I never thought that I would be a Saskatchewan Roughrider, but with that being said, I'm excited for this opportunity. This is an opportunity to play football in a city where football is king and that's what I wanted.”
According to Simon, when the opportunity to talk with other CFL teams came up in December, the Riders were the only one he wanted to come to. “I wanted to play in an organization that treats their players right and has an opportunity to win, and I felt Saskatchewan gave me the best opportunity for that,” stated Simon.
The 37-year-old saw a drop in production last year due to injury. His nine-year streak of 1,000 yard seasons ended last year as he finished with 54 catches for 700 yards and two touchdowns in 13 games. He says that's put a chip on his shoulder coming into this season, “I still believe I'm an elite receiver and I plan on proving that. I'm going to help this team get better, it's going to be on the field, it's going to be in the locker room and it's going to be in the community. I really believe that I can help and I'm looking forward to that.”
Quarterback Darian Durant and Simon were in contact last week after the trade and Simon says he's excited about the potential in this offensive group, “I'm going to try to get with these guys (Durant, Weston Dressler and Chris Getzlaf) to get on the same page because you can have a bunch of good players, but that doesn't mean anything if you don't play together and on the same page, so I want to get on the same page as those guys as soon as possible.
“Everybody here is excited about the potential and it's not pressure, I put a lot of pressure on myself to go out and perform, so when I leave here, I'm going back to work to make this all worth it.”
As for playing in a pressure cooker like Saskatchewan, Simon says he can't wait to be a part of Rider Nation, “I plan on being a face in the community for this team and this organization, bringing a positive message.
“People want 30 seconds. I'm not that important that I can't give someone 30 seconds to tell me that they're excited about me playing here, or they like the catch that I made, or their looking forward to the next game. It's not that big of deal for me to give someone 30 seconds of my time.”
Simon's family will be joining him in Saskatchewan as he says he couldn't go the six months without seeing them, “We're a pretty close family, I'm really involved with the kids, so I can't see me leaving them there for six months and not seeing them, so that's not really something that will happen.”
Simon also met with fans in person at the Rider Store for an autograph signing after his introductory media conference.
Fri, Apr 26, 7:00 PM
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