Music: {allcanada} ARGONAUTS SIGN CANADIAN OFFENSIVE GUARD EPPELE TO EXTENSION

Monday, December 31, 2012

{allcanada} ARGONAUTS SIGN CANADIAN OFFENSIVE GUARD EPPELE TO EXTENSION

TORONTO -- The Toronto Argonauts have signed Canadian guard Joe Eppele to a contract extension through the 2014 season.

Eppele, who was slated to become a free agent, was selected by Toronto with the second overall pick in the 2010 CFL Canadian Draft.

"Joe is a young, talented player who stepped in during the playoffs and did a very good job for our team," Argonauts general manager Jim Barker said Monday in a release. "He continues to develop his skills and has made great strides towards becoming the player we believed he'd eventually become when we drafted him in the first round.

"Securing quality, young Canadians, like Joe, will help us build upon our Grey Cup championship and ensure our team is positioned for long-term success."

Eppele, 25, played in all 18 regular-season games last season. The six-foot-eight, 304-pound native of Brackendale, B.C., also started three playoff games, including Toronto's Grey Cup win over Calgary at Rogers Centre.

"I wanted to extend my time in Toronto because I love this city, and even the locker-room feels like home," he said.

"My teammates are like family and I believe that winning the 100th Grey Cup with them was just the beginning of more great things to come."