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Chris Jones' Riders' makeover continues with Capicciotti, six other Day Two adds

Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Zach Collaros runs the ball against Ottawa Redblacks Keith Shologan (L) and Justin Capicciotti (R) during the first half of their CFL football in Hamilton, October 17, 2014. REUTERS/Mark Blinch (CANADA - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL) (REUTERS)

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are going to be a very different team in 2016 under new head coach and general manager Chris Jones. In addition to replacing almost the whole coaching staff with his assistants from Edmonton, Jones released plenty of Riders before free agency (including Weston Dressler, John Chick, Tyron Brackenridge, Anthony Allen and Paul McCallum) and made some big signings, both leading up to free agency (Shawn Lemon, Chris Best, Dylan Ainsworth) and on the first day of the free agent period Tuesday (John Chiles, Jeremy Kelley, Shamawd Chambers, Andrew Jones). While that alone would be plenty of turnover for many teams, Jones went even further Wednesday, signing six players and trading for a seventh. The most notable? Former Ottawa defensive end Justin Capicciotti.

Capicciotti was one of only two of our top five free agents to watch who didn't sign on Day One (the other is Toronto DT Cleyon Laing, who remains unsigned), and he should be an incredibly valuable piece for Saskatchewan. He's a Canadian who plays a typically-American position, and plays it very well indeed; he had 12 sacks and a forced fumble last season, and has 23 sacks over the last two years, illustrating his consistency. He's also just 26, so he has youth on his side. Moreover, he's an excellent fit with Lemon, as the two of them generated a great pass rush for Ottawa down the stretch after the Redblacks brought Lemon in midseason. He's probably the biggest free-agent signing the Riders have made so far, and he should be an excellent asset for them.

The other guys Saskatchewan picked up Wednesday could be effective too, though. They signed Toronto linebacker Greg Jones, Toronto running back Curtis Steele, Edmonton running back/receiver/returner Kendial Lawrence, Hamilton defensive back Ed Gainey and Edmonton defensive back Otha Foster. They also traded a fourth-round pick and the rights to a negotiation-list player to Toronto for offensive tackle Bruce Campbell, so expect plenty of Evil Dead jokes this season. All of these guys could be important pieces; Lawrence found great success as a utility piece on offence and special teams in Edmonton, while Steele has been effective at times as an every-down RB, Jones started every game for Toronto last year and racked up a team-high 98 tackles, Campbell started 15 games for the Argonauts, Foster did well in the Eskimos' excellent secondary, and Gainey was important for Hamilton.

This many additions and subtractions (Saskatchewan released linebacker Jake Doughty and punter Ray Early Wednesday to make room, and they appear set to let several other free agents walk) will lead to the Roughriders being a drastically different team in 2016. While that carries some concerns about how long it will take them to gel, a fair amount of turnover probably isn't the worst thing for a team that went 3-15 last year. Jones' team is certainly going to be different, and these moves confirm that. We'll find out if it will be better, and if so, by how much.

(Update: This piece initially had Gainey with the Eskimos last year; he played with the Ticats in 2015.)