After toiling in the NFL for the past few seasons, Marc Boerigter has returned to the team he helped win a Grey Cup with in 2001. The six-foot-three, sure-handed receiver will be a favourite target of quarterback Henry Burris. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Although he's officially listed as an import, the 2007 CFL season represents a homecoming of sorts for Calgary Stampeders' slotback Marc Boerigter.

After a five-year stint in the NFL, the 29-year-old Nebraskan has brought his Grey Cup experience and NFL seasoning back to Calgary to add another big, playmaking target to one of the league's strongest receiving corps.

The transition back to the Canadian game has been a smooth one, says Boerigter.

"The game is still the same," he says. "Once you get back up here and get into the flow of practice, everything comes back to you. The field comes back to you, that bigger territory, so I've been really happy with the way things have gone so far."

Outside of a case of miscommunication with Calgary quarterback Henry Burris on the first play, Boerigter appeared to be in the flow of the Stampeder's 37-9 Week 1 romp over the Hamilton Tiger Cats — making three receptions for 46 yards.

Burris spread the ball around in the win, which should be the norm this season with receivers such as Boerigter, Nik Lewis, Jermaine Copeland, Ken-Yon Rambo and the recently acquired Ryan Thelwell in the fold.

It's a talented group that Boerigter hopes he can help keep focused, both on the field and off.

"Everybody's got their own strength that meshes well together in this offence and I think I'm just another piece in that puzzle," says Boerigter. "I'm just bringing another aspect of veteran leadership into the huddle and into our locker room.

"That's one of the reasons they wanted to bring me back and that's one of the reasons I wanted to come back."

The leap to the NFL

Coming out of Hasting College in Nebraska, the slotback capped a solid rookie CFL campaign with a breakout second season with Calgary in 2001, making 48 catches for 931 yards and a team-high 11 touchdowns as the Stampeders won the Grey Cup.

After his impressive campaign culminated with an outstanding performance in the championship game (four receptions, 114 yards, one touchdown), the NFL came calling.

Boerigter signed with the Kansas City Chiefs and quickly carved out a spot with their high-octane offence that annually featured several all-league options. Boerigter caught 20 passes for 420 yards and eight touchdowns in that first NFL season.

Marc Boerigter (85), seen in action with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2003, is back in the CFL after a six-year absence. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

He also left his mark with a memorable 99-yard reception from Trent Green against the San Diego Chargers on Dec. 22, 2002 — a record shared with nine other players in NFL history as the longest pass play from scrimmage.

For Boerigter, it's a reception that ranks with his 68-yard grab for a score in the 2001 Grey Cup.

"They both rank about equal at this point," he says. "Obviously, being able to help a team win a championship with the reception in the Grey Cup will always a great memory but it's a situation where it happened in two different times in my career … overall, I think they're both pretty unique situations."

In four seasons with the Chiefs, with the 2004 season entirely wiped out due to a knee injury, Boerigter made 39 catches for 697 yards.

Boerigter looked a fresh start in the off-season of 2006. While there was some interest from the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts, Boerigter failed to land a job.

Despite the less-than-ideal departure from the NFL, Boerigter says the experience proved beneficial in more ways than one.

"Going back to playing on a smaller field, everything has to be more precise from a receiver standpoint," he says. "You have more hardships and you have more successes. I think it's a situation where you're a few years wiser after having that experience."

Calgary comes calling again

That wisdom prompted Calgary to sign Boerigter as a free agent in November 2006.

For Boerigter, who admittedly kept tabs on the Stampeders during his time in the NFL, the choice wasn't a difficult one. Right down to the team's ownerships issues after his departure, he's always had the Red and White in the back of his mind.

"Obviously having stable ownership back here has helped the last couple of years," he says of Californian Michael Feterik's sale the team to a consortium of local owners. "I followed this organization through all the stuff that they went through."

For the Stampeders, who haven't been able to get over the hump after melting down in two consecutive playoffs, Boerigter now finds himself in the unfamiliar role of tested veteran. But while the puzzle pieces may be different this time around, knowing and teaching what it takes to put them together might be his most important contribution to the Stamps this season.

"It's a situation where going into this season, a lot has been made about a lot of things that happened here last year," says Boerigter. "But this is a brand new team, it's a team that's excited to play and it's a team that's on the cusp of doing something big.

"It's just a matter of seeing that through until the end."