Stevie Baggs was a CFL all-star in 2009.

BY ARASH MADANI
sportsnet.ca

Free agent defensive end Stevie Baggs has come to terms with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on a two-year contract plus an option.

Baggs, formerly of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders, was a final cut of the National Football League's Arizona Cardinals.

The Ticats gave Baggs a $50,000 signing bonus with a weekly salary of $5,000. The Roughriders were in play for Baggs' services, offering the same weekly salary, but a signing bonus of just $25,000. The Alouettes were also in the running, having contacted Baggs three times and had a compensation package similar to Hamilton's.

He was rumoured to return to Regina or end up in Edmonton, where former Riders general manager Eric Tillman is now heading the Eskimos football operations department. Tillman dispelled that thought on his second day on the job, believed because the price was too high for the 28-year-old's services.

In the press release Thursday, general manager Bob O'Billovich commented, "Stevie is a quick, high-energy player who will help create havoc for the opposition when teamed up with the defensive players we currently have on the roster. He's also a great character guy who will be a welcomed addition in our locker room and the community."

Baggs, a CFL all-star in 2009, is believed to have signed a three-year deal including an option.