Defensive lineman Micah Johnson returning to Riders ‘win-win for both sides’

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have brought defensive lineman Micah Johnson back for a third stint with the team.

The 34-year-old spent the 2022 season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and recorded 24 tackles with seven sacks during 16 regular season games. He was named an East Division all-star and helped the Ticats finish fourth in the league in sacks with 42.

The nine-year CFL veteran is back in green and white after spending the 2019 and 2021 seasons with the Riders. Johnson signed a one-year contract with the B.C. Lions in 2020, though he never dressed for the team as the season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’ve always liked Micah. We just felt he was out of our price range at the time but we were able to get it to where it was a win-win for both sides,” head coach Craig Dickenson told 3DownNation.

After Johnson collected $158,000 in total earnings in his lone season with the Ticats, Saskatchewan was able to ink him to a deal worth approximately $118,000 in hard money for 2023. According to sources, his base salary will check in at the league minimum of $70,000 with a $25,000 signing bonus as his upfront guarantee. With playtime and performance incentives, the Columbus, GA native could take home around $140,000.

The six-foot-two, 278-pound defender joins a defensive line that features a returning Pete Robertson and newcomer Stefan Banks on the edge as well as budding star Anthony Lanier as Johnson’s mate in the middle.

“We wanted to be as good as we could up front, that was one area that we felt affected us last year when we had injuries,” Dickenson said. “We wanted to make sure we had the best D-line we could and so, on paper, we feel pretty good about our defensive front and Micah’s a big part of that.”

After spending the first six seasons of his CFL career in Calgary, Johnson first arrived in Saskatchewan in 2019 as a prized free agent signing. Coming off three consecutive league all-star selections, Johnson managed 26 tackles and four sacks in 15 games. Despite the team’s success that year, he faced a large amount of public criticism for failing to live up to a contract valued at $250,000.

He returned to Saskatchewan for his second go around with the team at a discounted rate for the shortened 2021 season, posting 19 tackles and two sacks in 12 games before departing once again, this time for Hamilton.

“Signing Micah allows us some more creativity and flexibility on the D-line,” general manager Jeremy O’Day said. “We really wanted to focus in free agency on the offensive and defensive line.”