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“I was close with the general manager (Brock Sunderland) in Edmonton and it was a hard decision because I know how much he cares,” Colquhoun said. “I felt kind of bad leaving.”

But Colquhoun was still happy for a chance to experience the free-agent process before making a decision.

“That was intriguing,” Colquhoun said. “For me, it was exciting. It’s your chance to see what teams are interested in you. I liked it. It’s crazy because you don’t know where going and that’s your future.”

He considered returning to Edmonton with the British Columbia Lions and Ottawa Redblacks also showing interest before opting for the Argonauts.

“I talked to a couple of coaches and just thought coming home was a good thing,” Colquhoun said. “Toronto’s one of the best cities and just being close to home and being in my own province I’m looking forward to getting started.”

Colquhoun joins a Toronto team in need of help on defence. The club missed the playoffs last season after going 4-14 and allowed the second-most points against at 562, which was more than 31 points per game on average.

“They did have a tough year and I feel they’re trying to revamp the team and the first thing you have to do is get good Canadians and I thought they did that,” Colquhoun said.

Along with Colquhoun, the Argonauts have added several Canadians in defensive lineman Fabian Foote, offensive lineman Dariusz Bladek, linebacker Chris Ackie, defensive back Denzel Radford, receiver Juwan Brescacin and linebacker Paul Kozachuk in free agency.

“Younger, good talent that can play in the CFL,” Colquhoun said. “Not knowing (what free agency held) and landing in Toronto, just the way everything was going and the way Toronto was pursuing, I knew it was the perfect opportunity.”

jpparker@postmedia.com

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