Marc-Olivier Brouillette celebrated his birthday by agreeing to move halfway across the country.
Brouillette, who turned 31 on Tuesday, signed a free-agent contract with the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Wednesday. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound safety spent his first seven seasons in the CFL with his hometown Montreal Alouettes.
“On Tuesday, with everything surrounding free agency and it happening to fall on my birthday, I decided to go to the gym and try to keep my mind off things as much as possible,” Brouillette said Thursday.
“Once the night rolled around and we got the ball moving with the Riders, I started getting more and more excited. The nerves were replaced by excitement and then, once the deal got done, it was probably one of the best birthday presents I could ask for.”
Brouillette said he agreed to terms with Saskatchewan late Tuesday night and signed a two-year contract on Wednesday morning.
Brouillette, who played quarterback at the University of Montreal, was selected by the Alouettes in the third round (23rd overall) of the 2010 draft. He began his CFL career that year, moving across the line of scrimmage into the Als’ secondary.
In 18 games for Montreal last season, Brouillette had 34 defensive tackles, three special-teams stops and one interception. After the season, he was named an East Division all-star.
He has 202 defensive tackles, 30 special-teams tackles, eight sacks, six forced fumbles and five interceptions in 103 career regular-season games.
Brouillette admitted he initially thought that he would remain with the Alouettes, but noted that negotiations on a new deal “weren’t moving along as quickly as I had hoped.” That said, he also was open to moving to another CFL team — and he was intrigued when the Roughriders indicated an interest.
The attraction of playing in a new stadium and the ongoing rebuild undertaken by head coach-general manager Chris Jones were enough to convince Brouillette to make the move.
“If you look at the direction they’re heading in and the players they’re signing and their plans for the future, it’s something that’s very attractive for potential free agents — and it’s what led me to go there,” he said. “The organization is in great hands with Chris Jones, John Murphy and Jeremy O’Day.
“With the signings they’ve had over the last couple of days, that’s proof that they’re committed to getting better and I’m excited to be able to bring some veteran leadership to that movement.”
On Wednesday, Jones called Brouillette “a disruptive guy defensively,” referring to the physicality the safety offers. Brouillette also can provide a veteran presence to a relatively young Roughriders secondary, both on and off the field.
Brouillette has a law degree, but he hasn’t worked for a firm since the winter of 2014. For now, football remains his priority.
“I enjoyed going to court and pleading in front of judges tremendously,” said Brouillette, who specialized in civil and commercial litigation. “But the reality of it is, litigation files don’t last for only six months; they could drag on for months or years. To be the best lawyer I could possibly be, I would need to be hands on for 365 days a year.
“That naturally became an impossibility if I wanted to continue playing football, so I made the decision to put that on hold and keep playing football. For the immediate future, that’s still my plan.”
• On Thursday, the Roughriders announced the signing of international running back Cameron Marshall.
The 25-year-old product of San Jose, Calif., previously played in the CFL in 2015 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He rushed 141 times for 614 yards and five touchdowns and added 32 catches for 378 yards and two TDs for Winnipeg that season.
The 5-foot-11, 215-pounder out of Arizona State University has had NFL stints with the Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Roughriders also announced they had released Canadian offensive lineman Andrew Jones. He appeared in 15 games with Saskatchewan last season.
Also Thursday, receiver Jeff Fuller — who suffered a hand injury in his only game with the Roughriders last season — reportedly signed a free-agent deal with the Toronto Argonauts.
Fuller joins quarterback Mitchell Gale (Calgary Stampeders) and defensive back Andrew Lue (Edmonton Eskimos) on the list of Saskatchewan free agents who have signed with other CFL teams since the market opened Tuesday.
