The Saskatchewan Roughriders have signed two Americans, and both have ties to the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.

Defensive Lineman DeMarcus Christmas was a sixth round pick of the Seahawks in 2019.  He has spent time with the Seahawks, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Christmas is 6 foot 3, 302 pounds, and played college ball with Florida State.

Running back Troymaine Pope was signed by the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent after the 2016 NFL Draft.  He spent six seasons playing for various NFL teams, getting into games with the Hawks, and the Los Angeles Chargers.  He played collegiately at Jacksonville State.

The Riders have opened up Rookie Camp in Saskatoon today, with the main camp set to open on Sunday.  That depends on the outcome of meetings between the CFL and the Players Association, as the two sides try and hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement before the current CBA expires on Saturday.

The Players Association has told its players to stay home from training camps, if there isn’t a new agreement in place.