Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros gets pressure from Ottawa Redblacks linebacker Adarius Pickett during a game in Winnipeg last year.John Woods/The Canadian Press
It didn’t take Adarius Pickett long to find his way back to the Toronto Argonauts.
The veteran linebacker signed a one-year deal Friday with the team he enjoyed his best CFL season with in 2023. The move came just three days after Pickett, 29, and the Ottawa Redblacks agreed to mutually part ways.
That was surprising given Pickett had earned division all-star honours in both of his seasons with Ottawa, including ’24 when he was limited to 13 regular-season games due to an Achilles injury.
After agreeing to take a pay cut in 2025, the California native not only reported to camp on time but didn’t miss any practices or games because of the injury.
A pending free agent, Pickett said the slow nature of contract talks with Ottawa contributed to his departure.
“The biggest thing is the negotiation was real slow, almost to none,” Pickett said during a video conference Friday. “Almost like they were indecisive about if they wanted me to be there or not.
“I took a pay cut and understood all that but I came back and did exactly what I said I was going to do. I was ready to go the first day of camp, I didn’t miss one practice, I didn’t miss one game the whole season and was arguably one of the best players on defence for them. When that [slow negotiation] happened, we hit them up and talked about it and we mutually parted ways.”
Pickett was the East Division’s top defensive player in ’23 playing for then Toronto head coach Ryan Dinwiddie, who became Ottawa’s head coach/general manager this off-season. But Pickett, a divisional all-star the last three years, said his discussions were with Shawn Burke, the Redblacks’ vice-president of football operations.
If talks with Ottawa were slow, discussions with Toronto heated up immediately following Pickett’s release. The Argos were one of four teams interested in Pickett but he said they outdid the others.
“Right when it was news that I was released, Pinball [Argos GM Mike Clemons] hit me up literally 30 seconds later,” Pickett said. “I talked to him, I talked to coach Quick [defensive co-ordinator Greg Quick], I talked to coach Miller [head coach Mike Miller].
“The other teams, it was kind of sporadic throughout the day. With all due respect to them, I liked that Toronto did everything back to back to back and I knew the interest level was high there.”
Pickett established career highs in tackles (105), special-teams tackles (19), sacks (six), and a forced fumble in ’23. He was also a CFL and East all-star in helping Toronto post a CFL-best 16-2 record before losing 38-17 to the eventual Grey Cup-champion Montreal Alouettes in the division final.
Pickett’s deal with Toronto is worth $191,000 in hard money and includes an $80,000 signing bonus. It has a total value of $202,000.
This marks Quick’s third coaching stint with Toronto but first as defensive co-ordinator. He was Montreal’s linebacker coach when Pickett began his CFL career there (2021-22) and Pickett said Quick’s presence with the Argos also factored in his decision.
“He’s a very good coach,” Pickett said. “We were on the phone for like 35-40 minutes and I listened to his philosophy, what he sees, where he wants to take the defence and how he plans to utilize me.”
Pickett also reunites with Canadian linebacker Cam Judge as the two were teammates at UCLA (2014-16). Any other year, they’d flank standout middle linebacker Wynton McManis but he’s a pending free agent.
Re-signing McManis remains a huge off-season priority for Clemons. Pickett plans to do his part in trying to convince McManis to stay.
“That’s my dog right there,” Pickett said “We always talked when I was in Ottawa about possibly playing together again and the opportunity is there right now.
“I know [contract negotiations] is a tough process to go through having gone through it myself. If everything aligns … we’ll be back playing for the Double Blue and that would be exciting.”
More importantly, Pickett is in a much better place now to tackle his off-season preparation.
“I’m excited about this off-season because last year I had to relearn how to do stuff coming off that injury,” he said. “It was a scary one, for real.
“Moving forward, it’s just putting in that same level of work. But I’m in a way better position where I am right now.”
Pickett has appeared in 79 career regular-season games, registering 337 tackles, 66 special-teams tackles, 14 sacks, five forced fumbles and four interceptions.