Monday Morning Sentimonies: The NFL Calls

We found out this past week that Dohnte Myers will become the latest Roughrider to try his luck down south. He signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. As with every Rider that heads to the NFL, he gets the customary “Happy for you but selfishly bummed to be losing you”. But after a breakout year with over 1000 yards and the 4^th most receiving TDs in the CFL he is certainly deserving of the opportunity. 

I hope he sticks as down there but the reality is its tough for a receiver to make it. Most receivers can’t play on special teams so they need to outright win a spot as a receiver. With the resurgence of the kick return game in the NFL, Myers’ chances somewhat improve given that he is a talented returner. For his sake I hope I am wriong but I could see him back in the CFL come September. And honestly, while losing a player of his calibre is never a good thing for team, there may be a slight silver lining in this. 

The Riders have a lot of work to do to re-sign all their pending FAs. Myers was among many guys coming of rookie deals and due a significant raise. We don’t have enough money to pay everyone. So not having to pay him now and potentially (I stress potentially since he may stick in the NFL and is an unrestricted free agent if he doesn’t) getting him for the back half of the makes the economics of this all a little eaiser. 

This got me thinking about the Riders’ history with NFL signees. This has been a standard part of most offseasons. We’ve seen guys like Keith, Dominguez, Fantuz, Dressler and Jordan Sisco (for reasons that still defy explanation) sign deals. Some guys get a cup of coffee and are back with the team come Labour Day (think Ajou recently). Some guys stick for a year or two before eventually coming back. And some guys never look back (think Jerrell Freeman who remains one of the most talented players I have ever seen in Green and White). 

Here's a look at the 10 years worth of Riders trying the NFL. 

2015 – Ben Heenan (Indy – ended up retiring to farm after his time in Indy), Brian Peters (Houston – Had a 3 year career in the NFL and never came back north)

2017 – Jeff Knox (TB), Otha Foster (Baltimore) – both were back in the CFL that same season

2018 – Jeff Knox (TB, again was back in the CFL that same season), Kacy Rodgers (NYJ, didn’t last more than one season but never came back north)

2019 – Sam Eguavoen (Miami, proved he was a legit NFL talent and stuck permanently), Jordan Williams-Lambert (Indy, returned to the CFL)

2020 – Derrick Moncreif (LV, lasted the full season in the NFL before returning the next year)

2021 – Dakota Shepley (San Fran, still down south doing his thing)

2022 – Brayden Lenius (Atlanta, cup of coffee and back in the CFL by September)

2025 – Trevor Reid (Minnesota – did not make the main roster but has yet to return to the CFL), Ajou Ajou (Indy, cup of coffee and back to make plays on Labour Day) 

How Myers will fare remains to be seen. But I do take solace in having players that are talented enough to catch the attention of the NFL. Note in the list above that in 2016. 2023 and 2024 we had no one sign in the NFL… you may have repressed the memories of those season but I assure you they were not so great.