Some of the stuff probably needed a little ironing, but when the call came Keon Raymond barely had to pack.

He had been expecting some team to seek his services, he just didn't know it would be the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

"I didn't think I was done," said the 33-year-old CFL veteran who was cut by the Toronto Argonauts in late August, but will start at SAM (strong side) linebacker for Hamilton Friday night against Ottawa.

"I knew that this is the time when teams get close to a playoff run. I knew with the resume I put together, I would get an opportunity.

"My wife will tell you that I didn't even unpack my suitcase from the time I got let go in Toronto. It stayed in my room. I would go in and out of it from time to time to get some things, but it stayed packed."

Immediately upon his arrival for practice Monday — he'd been back in Calgary with his family — Raymond was nicknamed 'OG' by a number of his teammates. That's not "Old Guy" but "Original Gangster," a term of respect accorded to well-regarded veterans who've been around the CFL for a significant stretch.

This is Raymond's ninth CFL season, the first eight of which were spent with the Calgary Stampeders. He is one of two players (Xavier Fulton, Saskatchewan 2013) to beat the Tiger-Cats in a Grey Cup and join the team this week to fill a massive injury void. The ultra-versatile Rico Murray, the regular SAM linebacker, is on the six-game injury list.

So Raymond, with three practices under his new belt, joins Larry Dean and Simoni Lawrence in the linebacking corps, which holds many of the keys to Friday's playoff-implicating match at Tim Hortons Field. With a diminished secondary, the linebackers need to both help the front four with pressure on Henry Burris, and help the back five with the Redblacks' deep receiving squad, which tacks on an astonishingly high number of yards after the catch.

Strong side linebacker is a hybrid position, requiring the strength, reads and tackling acumen of a linebacker, but the coverage skills of a defensive back. Like so many SAMs, including Murray, Raymond came into the league as a defensive back. He'd been a two-time West all-star and won a pair of Grey Cups before he was traded to Toronto in the off-season.

However, the Argos — who have won just one game since then — cut him the game before his contract, as a six-year veteran, would have been guaranteed for the rest of the season.

"I guess it had to be," Raymond answered, when asked if finance was the reason for his exit from Toronto, where he ranked second on the team in tackles. "I thought I was playing well, but I think the coaches just wanted to go in a different direction and I can't fault the coaches for that. It's the nature of the game."

Murray calls SAM linebacker the most cerebral spot on the defence, and Raymond, the only American on the CFL Players Association executive, wouldn't dispute that. He's fairly old for the position, but says he's still got the skills and that thinking ages well.

"The biggest part is making sure that you're smart," he says. "I think wisdom in this game can take you as far as, or farther than, athletic ability. I think I had that at a young age in this league."

His defensive co-ordinator Orlondo Steinauer agrees.

"We know (he's not a young guy). He's experienced, he's a veteran. He's a champion. That's what he brings."

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

And like every other Ticat as this quirky season funnels down to the money games, he's got to bring it all Friday night.

NOTES: Keon Raymond's 24 interceptions were the most by a Calgary Stampeder in the past quarter-century. … Left offensive tackle Xavier Fulton and defensive end Justin Capicciotti will also make their Hamilton debuts Friday. Fulton starts at left tackle and Capicciotti will play on special teams and in rotation with American starters John Chick and Adrian Tracy. … Terrence Campbell will move from left tackle to right tackle to replace Jeremy Lewis, who was injured in practice this week. … Running back C.J. Gable will return as the starter after missing two games with injury.