Montreal Alouettes general manager Danny Maciocia took advantage of the recent week off to assess his squad and concluded that they needed to do better in the trench warfare between the offensive and defensive lines.
This assessment led to the hiring of Shawn Lemon, whose mission will be to create confusion by chasing opposing quarterbacks.
Lemon, who signed a contract with the Alouettes on Monday, had 14 sacks and 29 defensive tackles with the Calgary Stampeders in 2022. He also knocked down four assists, in addition to causing five fumbles.
He is 15th in Canadian Football League history with 92 sacks and was named a CFL All-Star in 2022. Lemon also won the Gray Cup with the Stampeders in 2014 and with the Toronto Argonauts in 2017.
However, Lemon will be on his seventh CFL team. He was cut by the BC Lions during camp to make room for Canadian players. However, he also carries a reputation as a player with a strong personality that may not appeal to everyone in a locker room.
At this level, Maciocia insisted that he had done his homework and had no fears that Lemon would be added to his group.
The Alouettes (2-3) will return to action Sunday night when they host the Stampeders (2-4) at Percival-Molson Stadium.
