Roughriders sign defensive back Mike Edem through 2020

With a new general manager and head coach in place, the Roughriders have begun to sign some of their high profile free agents.

The club announced Thursday that defensive back Mike Edem has inked a two-year deal that will keep him with the Roughriders through 2020.

Edem said there were a few things that brought Edem back to the Riders, including the promotion of Jeremy O’Day to general manager and the hiring of Craig Dickenson as the head coach.

“And then the big thing for me was the guys in the locker room, really. The relationships in the secondary that I’ve made with (Ed) Gainey, (Nick) Marshall, Loucheiz Purifoy and Crezdon Butler – we have a tight-knit group,” he told Jamie Nye on the Green Zone Thursday afternoon.

Edem said the fans especially make coming back to Saskatchewan easy.

“Even my first day when I got to Saskatchewan, just seeing the love from the fans — you don’t think you’re known around the CFL because it’s a small league and only a few guys get the notoriety — but when you get to Regina, they actually know their players so well it makes you appreciate it even more,” Edem said, adding the Queen City has the added benefit of being close to his offseason home in Calgary.

Edem congratulated his former head coach Chris Jones on his opportunity with the Cleveland Browns while at the same time thanking Jones for the opportunity that he gave him.

Jones picked up Edem in a trade with B.C. in May of 2017 and pushed him to be the best he could be.

“I felt like no one was really giving me a chance at that point. He traded for me and gave me a chance to rejuvenate my career,” Edem said.

“He kept challenging me and just seeing the faith he had in me I started believing in myself.”

That faith led to an exceptional 2018 season for Edem that included a career-high 61 defensive tackles. He also collected 10 special-teams tackles, two tackles for a loss and two interceptions in starting all 18 regular-season games. In this year’s west semi-final, he added two defensive tackles and a quarterback sack.

Edem said that he’s ready to get going with his new head coach now, believing Dickenson is ready to make the jump to top dog.

“He has the kind of personality that catches a room and I think he’s going to have everybody’s attention,” Edem said. “(Dickenson’s) a fun guy, he’s a fun coach and the biggest thing about him is attention to detail. On game day, everybody’s going to know what their job is and their assignment and that allows you to execute much faster.”

The 29-year-old is entering his seventh CFL season, after initially being drafted by the Montreal Alouettes. He played nearly three seasons there before being traded to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in October 2015.

In 2016, he signed with the B.C. Lions.

Throughout his career, Edem has collected 172 defensive tackles, 50 special-teams tackles, eight interceptions, five quarterback sacks and four tackles for loss. He was named an all-star in 2013.

Edem was set to become a free agent on Feb. 12.

— With files from the Green Zone’s Jamie Nye