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The Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive line has been dominant this season, but the team decided to add some depth behind the likes of John Chick and Ricky Foley on Wednesday.

For the second straight season, the Riders pulled off a late season trade for a defensive end as they acquired Brandon Boudreaux from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

In exchange for Boudreaux and fourth round picks in the 2015 and 2016 CFL Drafts, the Riders sent Hamilton a third round pick in 2015 and 2016, as well as a player off their negotiation list.

“He impressed me last year in some of the things that he did and he’s a guy that me and Brendan (Taman) have been talking about,” said head coach Corey Chamblin.  “He’s going to be a good addition, he adds some energy and adds another player to our team as we try to get stronger down the stretch.”

The Riders have seen first hand what Boudreaux can do after facing him in the season opener, as well as last year’s Grey Cup.  Chamblin said he was really impressed with Boudreaux’s play during last year’s championship game.

“I actually watched it (Tuesday) and he did a real good job versus us, even though they didn’t win, but I was impressed with the way that he played and his motor,” Chamblin said.

Boudreaux had seen his playing time decrease with the Ti-Cats this season as he’s played in only three games and registered just four tackles.  That comes after he led the team in sacks last year with seven on his way to being named an East Division All-Star.

With the addition of Justin Hickman to the Hamilton defence, Boudreaux became expendable and Chamblin pounced.

“He’s an end and he’ll play some teams for us and do somethings like that,” said Chamblin.  “He’s a guy that’s full of energy and he’s got a great mindset.

“The question everyone always asks is why isn’t he being played, I don’t care about that, I know what I saw and if he has that in the tank, I’ll find a way to get it out of him.”

The six-foot-one, 240-pound 25-year-old is in his third CFL season and will be a free agent at the end of the year.  Chamblin wanted to bring him in to add some depth along their defensive line.

“(Defensive end) isn’t a position of weakness, it was just that we thought that bring him in would make us that much more stronger,” he said.  “For the most part, it was just a good player available and we had to take that.”

It’s unlikely that Boudreaux will be in the Riders’ lineup this week as the team has a short week ahead of Friday night’s game in Edmonton.