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“I’ve been around pretty much all the good and the bad at the maximum extremes,” he said. “What’s going on here is that I got the opportunity to go ahead and show everybody who I am. If you don’t know me, all you’ve got to do is go and look me up and then all of a sudden you’ll find out who I am.

“But I’m just myself. I’m comfortable being myself. I’m an outspoken guy, but every team I’ve always been around, I’ve loved my teammates to death.”

Jones was the Toronto Argonauts’ defensive co-ordinator when Mitchell played in Toronto. Mitchell also knows a number of the Roughriders from his previous stops in the CFL.

He was working on his organic farm near Vancouver when he got a call from Jones. That work has kept Mitchell in shape, which may allow him to play for Saskatchewan on Sunday against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“I’ve got to go through everything and once everything comes up to the game day, Coach Jones will make the proper assessments,” Mitchell said. “I trust whatever assessment he comes up with and then I’m just going to give him the best Khalif that he knows.”

Jones noted the Roughriders will “do our investigation” to see if Mitchell is in shape. He handled himself well in one-on-one drills Wednesday, so he could be activated for Sunday’s contest.

If so, he’ll join a defensive line that hasn’t produced much of a push this season.

“He’s a veteran so he’s going to bring some type of veteran leadership into the locker room,” said defensive tackle Corvey Irvin, a teammate of Mitchell’s in Montreal. “Maybe he can help us out.”

ihamilton@postmedia.com

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