The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced they have signed American defensive back Marcus Sayles.
He spent five seasons in the CFL with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and most recently the B.C. Lions.
Sayles was released by the B.C. Lions earlier this week and was heavily sought after given his experience in the league.
“We had a lot of teams come at me. But I just wanted to do the best opportunity for me and myself and my family, Sayles said. “I just wanted to be able to be in an organization that’s going to win and where I can contribute and just bring a Grey Cup here.”
Head coach Corey Mace admitted it was a shock to secure Sayles and it represents an exciting opportunity.
“That veteran presence will definitely help. He’s a quick twitch guy. He’s had some success with the ball in the air,” Mace explained.
“I know last year probably wasn’t the numbers he was looking for. But certainly with this defence I think he’ll be bale to get back to his ball hawking days.”
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In 2022, Sayles was named a CFL All-Star after recording career highs in tackles (68) and interceptions (4).
In 2023, he had 38 tackles with the Lions. But now he is hoping to have another successful and rebound year with the Riders.
“I’ve been down this road before you know,” Sayles said. “I’ve been in the NFL, been on teams, been cut from multiple teams. But I feel like I’m resilient.”
Now the experienced CFL’er will look to bolster the secondary. Both Sayles and his new coach think it can happen fairly quickly.
“It’s going to be different terminology and different language. But at the same time I’ve been playing for a long time and I pretty much know what goes into football,” Sayles said. “Once I get to know these plays, I’ll be ready to go.”
“He’s going to have to earn the coaches trust,” Mace added.
“Obviously he’s been a playmaker in the league so I’m sure he’ll be fine. He just has to catch-up on the playbook and stuff like that. But you know we’ve got a bunch of DB’s that we like and having him as an addition and giving us some flexibility certainly leaves us coaches with smiles on our faces.”
