He\u2019s known as \u201cThe Party Starter,\u201d but on Tuesday, CFL fans learned that for the Ottawa Redblacks the party was over.<\/p>\n
Strongside linebacker Adarius Pickett was released by the club that day in a move that stunned CFL fans. It gave him a month-long headstart on free agency, but it didn\u2019t take long for him to sign with the Toronto Argonauts, proof that you can come home again.<\/p>\n
That thanks to an aggressive general manager, Michael Clemons.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as I was released, \u2018Pinball\u2019 was the first person to call me,\u201d Pickett told Argonauts.ca from his home in California. \u201cAs soon as the news (about his release was announced), Pinball called me 30 seconds later. I saw the news hit Instagram and it was Pinball, his number popped up on my phone and I answered. He was the first person I talked to.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that his agent spoke to \u201cabout four different teams\u201d but there was really just one organization he wanted to sign with.<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved Toronto when I was there,\u201d he said. \u201cI love being in the city of Toronto and I feel like I\u2019ve got some unfinished business there from the season we had in \u201923. I love the teammates, love the fans, and the atmosphere of the city is unmatched. Even outside of football, I just enjoy being in the city for real. From the concerts to the Raptors games, to the Blue Jays games, it\u2019s always something going on in the city. I had a great time.\u201d<\/p>\n
He enjoyed Toronto almost as much as Argo fans enjoyed him. The UCLA product \u2013 now joining fellow Bruin Cameron Judge at linebacker \u2013 had what he asserts is his best CFL season. He was named a CFL All-Star and was the Eastern nominee for the league\u2019s Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award in a season where he recorded 124 total tackles, 19 of them coming on special teams.<\/p>\n
But that memorable 16-2 season came to an unexpected conclusion in the Eastern Final with a shocking loss to the Montreal Alouettes, the team for which Pickett had starred the two previous seasons.<\/p>\n
The always engaging SAM backer says that he learned something that day that he\u2019s been able to carry forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout the season it\u2019s just making sure that you fine tune those things, those little mistakes that may not have affected you early on. But down the stretch, especially in the later part of the season and the playoffs, you can\u2019t have those mistakes. It\u2019s making sure that you hold everybody accountable. The more you get into a season, the more you should expect out of your teammates, not just during the game, but at practices and meetings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pickett\u2019s ability is unquestioned. He\u2019s been an All-Star in each of the last three seasons and twice has been named his team\u2019s Most Outstanding Defensive Player, being selected as the Eastern nominee for that league award in his lone season in Toronto.<\/p>\n
But despite his individual success, he\u2019s quite surprisingly never won a playoff game, losing three times in the Eastern Final, another time when his Redblacks lost to the Argos in the 2024 Eastern Semi-Final, a game he missed due to an injury.<\/p>\n
That lack of team success has made him hungry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to do everything I possibly can to go and get that ring,\u201d said Pickett. \u201cThat\u2019s what we all play for, championships. I want to do everything I possibly can to prepare myself to come in and be who I\u2019ve always been, a leader, and help the Argos back to lifting up that Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s excited about being reunited with both defensive coordinator Greg Quick, whom he was with in Montreal for two years, and special teams coordinator Mickey Donovan, whom he played for in Toronto.<\/p>\n
Pickett is also eager to, well, start the party.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll do what I always do, bring energy, passion, and physicality. I\u2019ll fly around for the ball and it\u2019s infectious. When you bring in a guy like me with the energy and the passion, it changes things. You see the big hits or a sack or you see somebody bringing that passion, playing with it, it\u2019s infectious, that\u2019s why it\u2019s always a party when I\u2019m there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 29-year-old was now on a verbal roll.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see me dancing and just bringing liveliness. It\u2019s like when you were growing up back in the day, just playing. We\u2019re playing a game for real and just understand it\u2019s meant to be fun, so just celebrate the day. You bring that every day as well as the schematics and the correct mindset, man, there\u2019s no way we won\u2019t be in the playoffs and making a run for the Grey Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n
And there\u2019s no better party than after winning the Grey Cup.<\/p>\n
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