Tag: CFL

Kenneth George Jr. records five tackles against British Columbia

Former Tennessee football player Kenneth George Jr. records five tackles in CFL game.

British Columbia defeated Hamilton, 44-28, Sunday in a Canadian Football League game at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario.

Former Vol defensive back Kenneth George Jr. recorded five tackles for the Tiger-Cats.

George Jr. played for the Vols from 2018-21 under head coaches Jeremy Pruitt and Josh Heupel.

He transferred to Tennessee from Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas.

George Jr. appeared in 33 games, including 10 starts, at Tennessee. He totaled 52 tackles, 10 pass deflections, two fumble recoveries and one interception.

In two seasons with Hamilton, George Jr. has appeared in 23 games. He has recorded 68 tackles, two interceptions, one sack and one fumble recovery.

In 2024, he has appeared in five games and recorded 22 tackles.

Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Kenneth George Jr. records three tackles against Ottawa

Former Vol records three tackles in CFL game.

Ottawa defeated Hamilton, 24-22, Sunday in a Canadian Football League game at TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario.

Former Vol defensive back Kenneth George Jr. recorded three tackles for the Tiger-Cats.

George Jr. played for the Vols from 2018-21 under head coaches Jeremy Pruitt and Josh Heupel.

He transferred to Tennessee from Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas.

George Jr. appeared in 33 games, including 10 starts, at Tennessee. He totaled 52 tackles, 10 pass deflections, two fumble recoveries and one interception.

In two seasons with Hamilton, George Jr. has appeared in 22 games. He has recorded 63 tackles, two interceptions, one sack and one fumble recovery.

In 2024, he has played in four games and recorded 20 tackles.

Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Former Alabama QB signs with Hamilton Tiger-Cats of CFL

The former Alabama QB will begin his professional career in Canada!

After spending his true freshman season with the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2019, Taulia Tagovailoa transferred to Maryland. There, he would play under former Alabama offensive coordinator Mike Locksley and become the Big Ten’s all-time passing leader.

After the conclusion of the 2023 season, Tagovailoa entered the transfer portal. The NCAA decided that he had used up all of his collegiate eligibility, rendering him unable to transfer and continue playing.

He was not selected in the 2024 NFL draft or picked up as an undrafted free agent. Instead, he has signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL to the team’s practice squad.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Tagovailoa as his professional career gets started.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on X @SpurrFM. 

Former Wisconsin QB Jack Coan joins new professional football league for 2024

Jack Coan is still playing quarterback for a professional football team in 2024:

Former Wisconsin quarterback Jack Coan has found a home in the Canadian Football League for the 2024 season.

He enters the season, his third as a professional, as the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ third-string quarterback.

Related: Ranking the highest rated recruits in the history of Wisconsin football

The Roughriders’ began their 2024 campaign on Saturday, June 8 with a 29-21 win over the Edmonton Elks. Coan did not appear in the contest.

The multiyear starter for the Badgers turned professional after the 2021 college football season. He was starting under center for Notre Dame at that point after transferring from the Badgers after the 2020 season.

Coan went undrafted during the 2022 NFL draft and spent the 2022 NFL season on the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad. He bounced to the XFL for the 2023 season and has now found a new home in Canada.

The veteran quarterback threw for 3,278 yards with 23 touchdowns and 8 interceptions over 19 games in 2018 and 2019 with the Badgers. He led the team to a 10-4 record in 2019; two of the losses came against an all-time great Ohio State team and one against the Justin Herbert-led Oregon Ducks.

Coan’s numbers with Wisconsin in 2019 — 69.6% completion,  2,727 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions — were the program’s best from a starting quarterback since Russell Wilson’s legendary 2011 season.

The accomplished college quarterback has struggled to excel as a professional. It’s possible this stop in Canada is what he needs to kickstart his career.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion.

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Former Carolina Panthers WR wins 2024 UFL Offensive Player of the Year award

Hakeem Butler, once a Carolina Panther for 11 days, has been named the UFL’s Offensive Player of the Year.

For the second time in the last four months, a former Carolina Panther has been named an offensive player of the year.

On Friday, the United Football League announced wide receiver Hakeem Butler as their 2024 Offensive Player of Year. (Yes, he was a former Carolina Panther.)

Butler, a fourth-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft, was waived by the Arizona Cardinals at the beginning of his second pro campaign. The Panthers came calling shortly after, inking the Iowa State University standout to their practice squad on Sept. 18, 2020.

But just 11 days later, the Philadelphia Eagles swooped in—signing Butler away from the group and onto their active roster. He’d appear in just two games before being waived by the Eagles on Oct. 31.

Following a brief stint in the Canadian Football League, Butler was taken in the fifth round of the 2023 XFL Supplemental draft by the St. Louis Battlehawks. He went on to record 51 catches for 599 yards and eight touchdowns that season.

The 6-foot-5, 227-pounder returned to the Battlehawks in late 2023, when the organization had moved into the UFL. Butler’s award-winning season saw him amass a league-leading 652 receiving yards on 45 receptions.

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CFL team signs Broncos tryout QB John Matocha after Chad Kelly’s suspension

After losing Chad Kelly to a suspension, the CFL’s Argonauts are set to sign record-breaking QB John Matocha, who tried out for the Broncos.

After trying out for the Denver Broncos at rookie minicamp earlier this month, record-setting quarterback John Matocha will now get an opportunity in the Canadian Football League.

The Toronto Argonauts are set to sign Matocha, according to a report from KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. While playing for the Colorado School of Mines (Division II), Matocha threw 162 touchdown passes in four seasons, setting an NCAA record. He also rushed for 28 scores, giving him 190 total touchdowns.

“He’s been fun to work with,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said of Matocha on May 11. “He’s sharp, he’s smart and has a lot of energy. We had him here for the local pro day that we were allowed to have, and it’s good to have him back.”

Matocha had a three-day tryout in Denver during rookie minicamp.

“[He’s been] awesome,” the QB said when asked about Payton. “Obviously, [he’s] a very smart coach and a great guy. He runs this place really well and like I said, I’m super happy to be here.”

Matocha’s tryout did not end with a contract offer from the Broncos, but he’ll now get a chance in the CFL. The Argonauts needed more depth at quarterback after losing Chad Kelly to a suspension.

Kelly was suspended for a minimum of nine games after an investigation determined that he violated the league’s gender-based violence policy. Kelly initially denied the allegations of harassing a former Argonaut coach, but his tweeted statement was deleted, and the investigation resulted in a hefty suspension.

The ex-Denver quarterback was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player in 2023. With Kelly suspended, Matocha will join a Toronto quarterback room that includes Nick Arbuckle, Cameron Dukes and Bryan Scott. The Argonauts are set to open the 2024 regular season against the BC Lions on Sunday, June 9.

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Commanders to work out veteran WR Martavis Bryant

Bryant hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2018.

The Washington Commanders may not be done adding to the wide receiver room.

Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reported that Washington plans to work out veteran wide receiver Martavis Bryant on Wednesday. Bryant, 32, was a fourth-round pick back in the 2014 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Bryant showed tremendous promise early in his career before being suspended for the entire 2016 NFL season after violating the league’s substance abuse policy. It was his second such suspension, as Bryant missed the first four games of the 2015 season.

He was reinstated ahead of the 2017 season and finished with 50 receptions for 603 receiving yards and three touchdowns. The Steelers traded Bryant to the then-Oakland Raiders in 2018 for a third-round pick. However, the Raiders released Bryant before the season after another violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy. The Raiders then re-signed Bryant just 10 days later, and he played in eight games that season with 19 receptions and 266 yards.

Bryant would be out of football until 2021, when he signed with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts. He’d never play for Toronto as he was suspended after not reporting for training camp. After his release, he signed with an Indoor Football League team, followed by another CFL stint, this time with the Edmonton Eskimos. He was released before ever playing a game.

He signed with the Fan Controlled Football League in 2022 and was drafted by the XFL’s Vegas Vipers in 2021. He caught 14 passes for 154 yards in eight games and was released so that he could sign with the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad.

Washington coach Dan Quinn was with Dallas last season, which explains the connection to the Commanders.

In the four NFL seasons in which he has played, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Bryant has 145 receptions for 2,183 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Former Trojans’ paths to professional football take fascinating turns

Tyrone Taleni and Brett Neilon are two former Trojans taking unusual paths to pro football.

USC football players who have run their race in college are trying to stick on professional rosters. The road to pro ball is smooth and paved with gold for Caleb Williams, a No. 1 pick, but for a lot of other Trojans, the path is arduous and anything-but-glamorous. Former two-year USC Trojan defensive lineman Tyrone Taleni was selected in the first round of the Canadian Football League (CFL) draft by the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Brett Neilon — who did not play football in 2023 due to injuries — is trying to latch onto an NFL roster and has received a rookie minicamp invitation from the Kansas City Chiefs.

Tyrone Taleni, a former USC Trojan, was the third overall pick in the CFL draft.

Taleni spent two years with the Trojans in 2022 and 2023. He had 25 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, three quarterback hurries, and one forced fumble in 12 games and nine starts. In 2022, he was selected to the All-Pac-12 Second Team.

In 2023 he was benched and used as a rotational lineman with 11 tackles in 10 games, 0.5 tackles for loss, and 0.5 sacks.

The Western Samoan native started his career with Kansas State before coming to USC.

Brett Neilon was sidelined in 2023. If healthy after the injuries which hit him hard late in the 2022 season at USC, he could provide real value to an NFL team.

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Chad Kelly suspended 9 games by CFL for violating gender-based violence policy

Chad Kelly suspended 9 games by CFL for violating gender-based violence policy:

Nephew of Buffalo Bills and Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, Chad Kelly, has been suspended by the CFL for at least nine regular-season games.

The news comes following the CFL’s investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength and conditioning coach against both the player and club for violating its gender-based violence policy.

The decision comes after the league commissioned an independent third-party investigation into allegations made against Kelly by a female former Argos assistant strength coach who is suing him for sexual harassment and the team for wrongful dismissal.

Kelly, 30, was named the CFL’s outstanding player last season after leading Toronto to a league-best and franchise record 16-2 record. The Argos’ season ended with a 38-17 home loss to eventual Grey Cup-champion Montreal in the East Division final.

Kelly will be required to undergo confidential assessments by an independent expert and attend mandatory counselling sessions conducted by a gender-based violence expert.

“Players are the ambassadors of our great game,” CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie stated in a news release. “They are expected to be leaders in the locker room and role models in the community. It was important that we performed our due diligence to properly review this matter from all points of view. That in-depth investigation found that Mr. Kelly unequivocally violated the CFL’s Gender-based Violence Policy.

“Mr. Kelly’s suspension is the direct result of his behavior. The addition of mandatory counselling focuses on his need for self-reflection and understanding of his actions. He must take full advantage of this opportunity for personal betterment in order to return to the CFL.”

There is no report on whether or not the Argonauts are facing any repercussions.

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Jon Ryan to sign one-day contract, retire with Seahawks today

Ryan played for Seattle from 2008 to 2018, winning a Super Bowl in 2013.

Former Seahawks punter Jon Ryan intends to sign a one-day contract with the Seahawks today and officially retire as a member of the team.

Ryan played for Seattle from 2008 to 2018, winning a Super Bowl in 2013.

Ryan is responsible for one of the most memorable moments in franchise history. In the 2015 NFC title game against the Packers, he threw a touchdown pass on a fake field goal that sparked a rally to eventually win the game and advance to the Super Bowl.

After leaving Seattle Ryan put in one season with the Bills. Since then he’d been playing in the CFL, most recently with the Edmonton Elks in 2022.

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