NFL training camp is five weeks away, but if you need your football fix, you can look north! The Canadian Football League kicks off its 2017 season on Thursday with Montreal Alouettes hosting the Saskatchewan Roughriders at 4:30 p.m. PT.
I think most of us will probably forget the CFL season in relatively short order, but for now, we can entertain ourselves with some thoughts on the league. There are plenty of intriguing players, but as is often the case, it’s a backup that will get some people tuning int. Montreal acquired former Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams in a deal with the BC Lions last year. Adams started the final three games of the season, but any chance at the starting job in 2017 was scuttled when Montreal acquired quarterback Darian Durant.
On the other side of the field, wide receiver Duron Carter is the big name for Saskatchewan. Cris Carter’s son got a tryout with the Indianapolis Colts, and spent the 2016 season on their practice squad. They did not extend a reserve/future contract to him, and so he is back in the CFL.
The San Francisco 49ers have been overhauling their roster this offseason, and I have to think they’ll at least be keeping a bit of an eye on the CFL. They can’t sign players until after the season, but it won’t stop the scouting. The organization signed Eric Rogers out of the CFL a year ago, and after he missed the season with a torn ACL, he was released by the new front office. We’ll see if they take a look at anybody else later this year.