CFL legend Charleston Hughes helped Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Micah Johnson avoid the same mistake he made when he left the Green and White in CFL free agency.
“Probably the worst mistake of my career was leaving Saskatchewan and going to play in Toronto,” Hughes told The SportsCage. “It put me in a situation where I was with a bunch of new coaches, I was with guys who I really didn’t know. I love my teammates that I was there with, it was just I was around a bunch of coaches that I really didn’t know like I thought I did and it definitely didn’t work out. “
Hughes left the Riders during CFL free agency in 2020. He played seven games for the Argonauts and registered 18 defensive tackles plus two sacks in 2021 prior to being released after that season. Hughes and Johnson are former teammates as the two played in Calgary together from 2013 to 2017 and with Saskatchewan in 2019. The pair won two Grey Cups with the Stampeders in 2014 and 2018.
“I told him you’re on the back half of your career, you don’t have a lot of play left, but you’re playing at a high level,” Hughes said. “It’s best to stay where you’re most comfortable and that’s the best advice I can give him.”
Johnson’s 2024 season with the Roughriders marked his 11th year in the CFL, he played 18 games, recording 28 tackles and six sacks. This is his second stint with the Green and White, as he initially came to the team in 2019 through 2021 then played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats during the 2022 season.
According to Hughes, his education helped him navigate being a player in free agency.
“I went to school to be an agent, I knew exactly what to do and how to do it and the things to say to get what I needed out of the situation,” Hughes explained. “That’s why guys can call me and ask me for advice that are doing their own thing without an agent. I’ll shoot them straight and give them exactly how I feel they should go about the situation.”
Hughes can relate to Ottawa Redblacks’ receiver Eugene Lewis, who heard nothing from Edmonton Elks’ general manager Ed Hervey during free agency.
“I’ve been in his shoes before where you don’t hear nothing, you don’t hear a peep,” Hughes recalled. “You got to go up there and close the door.”
Hughes found the idea of transitioning to be a player agent intriguing, but he is content with his current direction.
“There’s a lot of people who actually voice to me that this is an opening that I should try to take in the league, especially because I’m well known, all throughout the CFL, and I got good relationships with GMs and the players,” Hughes said. “At this point, I’m happy where I am. I’m satisfied with what I’m doing right now, the growth that I’m having, and the success that I’m having. It’d be hard for me to walk away from this.”
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