Although Buono lost arguably the most important free agent in Andrew Harris, as well as Pascal Lochard and Alex Hoffman-Ellis, overall IMO he gained or kept more than he lost with the resigning of Chris Rainey and the addition of Mike Edem, Nick Moore and Brandon Stewart.

Lions defensive coordinator Mark Washington was a big promoter of University of Calgary safety Mike Edem in the 2013 Canadian Football League draft. He never got a chance to coach Edem, however, when the Montreal Alouettes selected the now 26-year-old from Brampton, Ont., third overall, three spots ahead of the Lions.

But Washington’s faith never wavered in Edem, even though his career did. An East Division all-star in his rookie season in Montreal, Edem’s play slipped with the Alouettes and he was traded to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last October.On Tuesday, the first day of Canadian Football League free agency, Edem came to terms with the Lions, who also added receiver Nick Moore from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and cornerback Brandon Stewart, another Tiger-Cat. Both Edem and Stewart signed two-year deals. Moore, who started his CFL career in 2011 with the Lions, signed for a single season. ...


“We’ve improved our team,” Buono said. “Have we made a big splash? That’s not the issue. We made a splash earlier by signing Travis (Lulay) and Chris Rainey. Today was about making our team better and stronger. We had bigger needs than in years past. Because of the loss of (nickelback) Josh Johnson and (cornerback) Steven Clarke (both to the NFL), that resulted in more openings. Trying to improve your Canadian content, with Mike Edem, is another part of it. I still believe his best is yet to come.”

Moore, 29, had his only 1,000-yard season with the Lions in 2013, when he had 73 catches, 1,105 yards and six touchdowns before he bolted for Winnipeg in free agency. He is back — at a reduced ticket from the $185,000-a-year deal he signed with the Blue Bombers.
“The thing I was sensitive to is the coaches went to bat for Nick,” Buono said. “It wasn’t strictly me. When we sat down, we talked about what we wanted to do in free agency, and see how we were going to build our team. The consensus was, over and over again, if we had this kind of receiver, he would definitely help us.”
Moore’s signing received a push from Marcel Bellefeuille, the Lions’ new receivers coach, who was the offensive coordinator last season in Winnipeg.




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