Tuesday, September 14, 2010, 3:23pm MT -- Ricky Foley, the 2009 CFL Most Outstanding Canadian award winner has signed with the Toronto Argonauts and will be joining the team on the field tomorrow.

"This was one of the most difficult decisions I've ever made. The fans, players and coaches in BC have been nothing but great and supportive of me for my career there, " said Foley, "but if I returned there, it would have been for selfish reasons. I have a unique opportunity to play in front of my family and friends and play for my hometown Argos, and at the end of the day, my family comes first, so I'm very excited to help bring Toronto a Grey Cup."

The signing comes after several media outlets reported he was returning to the BC Lions. "It was a whirlwind 2 days," Foley explained. "I could not go wrong with either team, as they are both great organizations, and I have nothing but the highest respect for Wally Buono, Neil McEvoy and the Lions organization. This wasn't about them. It was about my family. I'm excited to start a new chapter with the Argos, another first class organization."

Foley returns to the CFL after a short stint in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks and New York Jets during this past off-season and training camp. In 2009, Ricky broke out in a big way, earning the CFL's Outstanding Canadian Player award for his 12 QB Sacks and 53 Tackles. While he had sacks in 10 games during the season, his best performance came on September 19, ironically enough, against his hometown Toronto Argonauts, when he recorded 3 QB Sacks and 7 Tackles.

Career Summary:

2006-2008, BC Lions:
Ricky was a 1st round draft choice by the BC Lions in the 2006 CFL draft after a spectacular career at York University in Toronto. He made huge strides in 2007 and 2008 after a solid rookie year spent primarily on special teams. Midway through the 2007 season, he began to see more regular defensive duty and that continued in 2008. He recorded 47 special teams tackles in his first three seasons including a club- leading 22 in 2007. Ricky ran his career total in 2008 to 8 sacks. Despite limited playing time Rick had 6 career forced fumbles over his first three seasons.

2006, Baltimore Ravens:
He did sign in the NFL for a very short stint in 2006, with the Baltimore Ravens for minicamp workouts, but was released prior to training camp.

Personal:
A great athlete, Ricky was a decathlete in high school. In college, he competed in the 60m and the shotput (establishing school record) with York's track and field team in 2004, and never played an organized football game until he attended university.

Paul Sheehy, President/General Counsel
Warren Schmidt, Senior Vice President
Jon Baker, Vice President
Terry Ray, Vice President/Coaching
Phone: 303-948-1510