Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive end Stevie Baggs celebrates his side's 46-36 win over Toronto Argonauts at the end of fourth quarter CFL action in Toronto, on Saturday July 11, 2009.The Canadian Press
It didn't take long for Stevie Baggs to feel welcomed. His old buddies with the Calgary Stampeders saw to that.
Kevin Glenn joked with Baggs as he conducted his first official interview Monday afternoon.
"Who's your favourite quarterback?" Glenn asked from the back of the scrum. Offensive lineman Ibrahim Kahn tossed in some one-liners; defensive back Tad Kornegay saddled up next to Baggs and made faces.
In many ways, coming to Calgary was like old home week for Baggs, a six-year CFL veteran with stopovers with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Edmonton Eskimos, Saskatchewan Roughriders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
But here's the question: Can a 30-year-old defensive end who hasn't played this season – and who is still bothered by a leg injury – be the spark that ignites the Stampeders pass rush?
He might be, but it's going to take an unknown period of time to see how things unfold.
Once a nearly unstoppable pass rusher, Baggs participated in some individual drills Monday, but left early to rest what he dubbed "a week-to-week injury." He suffered it while trying out for the Baltimore Ravens and had to sign off with the NFL team before he could join the Stampeders practice roster.
"There was an opportunity to do an injury settlement and possibly come back six weeks after the settlement," said Baggs, who looks fit and content. "I want to play now."
A healthy, ferocious Baggs is exactly what Calgary could use on defence. Through 10 games, the Stampeders have managed 19 sacks, the third-lowest total in the league. Injuries and trades have cut into the depth up front, which was why team management chose to bring in three import defensive lineman Monday (Donavan Robinson and Michael Stover).
Baggs comes with the best pedigree and perhaps a changed attitude. With the Riders in 2009, he voiced his displeasure when teammate John Chick was voted the team's top defensive player. It was an outburst that rubbed many people the wrong way.
Baggs understood that, and insisted he bit his tongue last season in Hamilton when his statistics fell and critics took to chastising him for being overpaid and underwhelming.
"I was hoping people were watching film and understanding that it really wasn't my ability that declined. I was just in a system where it was good for me to stay out of the media and be a team guy," Baggs said. "My feeling was I was doing what was necessary for the team to be successful. I could have run up-field and made sacks on first down and disregarded what the schemes were. But I wanted to play within the scheme."
The Ticats released Baggs earlier this year, saying it was due to football reasons when everyone believed it was because of Baggs's salary. Either way, he signed with Baltimore, got hurt, then waited for someone to call and check him out. Stampeders offensive line coach Mike Gibson has been on three CFL teams with Baggs and is confident in what Calgary is getting.
"He's got a unique ability to change gears in a very short amount of time," Gibson said. "The thing I most like about him is he's going to play hard, and if you block him on one snap, he's going to learn and he's going to have an answer for it the next time."
Asked if he was concerned by the fact Baggs hasn't played in almost a year, Gibson answered: "He was down south [in the NFL] so he was doing something. He has nothing to prove to me. I know what kind of player he is."