The Calgary Stampeders have signed American defensive lineman Folarin Orimolade, who was scheduled to become a free agent in February.

Orimolade appeared in 10 regular-season games as well as the Western Final and Grey Cup as a rookie in 2018 but suffered a quadriceps injury in the Stamps’ first pre-season contest in 2019 and was sidelined for the rest of the year. The 24-year-old Dartmouth alum is now healthy and is expected to be ready for the start of 2020 training camp.

“We had high hopes that Flo would be an important contributor to our defence this past season and his injury was a disappointment for everyone,” said Stampeders president and general manager John Hufnagel. “I know Flo worked very hard to rehab his injury and look forward to seeing him at full health in training camp as he gets his career back on track.”

“Thank you to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and all the Stampeder coaching staff and Huff and the Stampeder front office for sticking with me through a tough year with injury,” said Orimolade. “And I’m very grateful for the opportunity to come back to Calgary where it all started in the CFL for me. I am looking forward to a great healthy season and winning another Grey Cup!”

During his rookie season in 2018, Orimolade played both defence and special teams and recorded seven defensive tackles, 10 special-teams tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one knockdown. He also had two special-teams tackles and an important fumble recovery in the Stamps’ Grey Cup victory.

The Washington, D.C., native signed with the Stamps on May 11, 2018, after attending training camp with the National Football League’s Los Angeles Rams in 2017. At Dartmouth, he was the Ivy League’s defensive player of the year in 2016 and when he finished his collegiate career he was second on the Big Green’s all-time list with 23.5 sacks.