Today is Canada Day, and what better way to celebrate Canada Day than to look at some CFL highlights? Here’s Toronto Argonauts rookie safety Derek Slywka returning a fumble and a blocked field goal north of 100 yards for a touchdown in the same game.
Over the past decade I’ve combed over every CFL roster—there are only nine teams in the league, so it’s not an arduous task—to see if there are any former Seattle Seahawks making some money playing gridiron football up north. I’m taking a lot of creative liberty with “former Seahawks” here but they signed a contract and received a jersey number at some point in time. Nearly everyone you’re about to see listed was on an offseason/preseason 90-man roster and/or regular season practice squad, but never elevated to the 53-man roster to play in a game.
Former Seattle Seahawks in the CFL
DT Jonah Tavai - BC Lions
Tavai was an interesting UDFA out of San Diego State, but he was waived with a non-football injury designation. He’s carved out a regular spot in BC’s defensive rotation, recording three sacks and a forced fumble over 14 career games.
OL Ilm Manning - BC Lions
He was with the Seahawks for about a month last year as a camp and preseason body. Manning is on BC’s injured list and hasn’t played a down for them yet.
QB P.J. Walker - Calgary Stampeders
Any brief thought about Walker, a star of the 2020 version of the XFL, possibly overtaking Sam Howell for Seahawks QB2 last season was put to bed pretty quickly by, well, his entire preseason. He hasn’t thrown a pass yet with Calgary but since the QB sneak is practically automatic in the CFL, he does have a rushing touchdown.
LB Joel Dublanko - Edmonton Elks
Dublanko was on the Seahawks’ 2022 preseason roster but didn’t make the cut. However, he’s an interesting story because he’s born in Aberdeen, Washington near the Canadian border and his dad is Canadian. He obtained Canadian citizenship and became CFL Draft eligible, with Edmonton selecting him No. 1 overall. Thus far Dublanko has more special teams tackles (9) than defensive tackles (2).
OL Greg Eiland - Edmonton Elks (practice squad)
Eiland was signed and waived by the Seahawks seemingly a thousand times over three seasons (2021-2023) in Seattle. He was regularly part of training camp and preseason and then eventually on the practice squad. After one season in the UFL, Eiland went to Edmonton and is on the Elks’ PS.
WR Kenny Lawler - Hamilton Tiger Cats
The 2016 seventh-round pick never made it onto the Seahawks’ regular season roster, but he has been a very good CFL receiver. He’s won two Grey Cups with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and earned CFL All-Star honors in 2021. Lawler has amassed 274 catches for 4,384 yards and 27 touchdowns across six CFL seasons. The former Cal star is currently with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, whose quarterback is Bo Levi Mitchell from Eastern Washington.
DL Julian Howsare - Hamilton Tiger Cats
Don’t know him? Of course you don’t. He spent three weeks on Seattle’s 2016 practice squad after starting out his NFL career with the New York Jets. This former CFL All-Star just scored over the weekend and has 33 sacks over seven seasons.
OL Pier-Olivier Lestage - Montreal Alouettes
Ahh yes! We have a Canadian player who was briefly a Seahawk as a UDFA signing in 2021. He spent the entire season on the practice squad before signing with his hometown Alouettes the following year. Lestage is Montreal’s starting left guard and won the Grey Cup in 2023. He was nominated for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman award that season but lost out to Dejon Allen of the Toronto Argonauts.
DB Gavin Heslop - Ottawa Redblacks
Here he is! Here’s the only player listed who has had some regular season snaps with the Seahawks! Heslop had three appearances in 2021, two of which had terrible outcomes. He was offside on a successful Seahawks onside kick recovery against Washington. Seattle only needed a field goal to win and that killed any chance of a miracle comeback. In his first game signed to the active roster after being a practice squad elevation, he broke his fibula and tibia in garbage time against the Houston Texans. For now, that’s his last game in the NFL.
Heslop just made his CFL debut last weekend against Toronto in the same game those Slywka touchdowns happened. His immediate introduction to Canadian Football was to block an Argos punt.
DB Benjie Franklin - Toronto Argonauts
Franklin was signed by the Seahawks as an undrafted rookie in June, playing in the preseason but unable to make it past the final roster cuts. He’s had a couple of stints with the Argonauts and has been productive, picking off three passes and forcing four fumbles while making 73 total tackles. One of his INTs came in last year’s Grey Cup victory over Winnipeg (Kenny Lawler’s former team).
DL Demarcus Christmas - Toronto Argonauts
The 2019 sixth-round selection dealt with injuries in Seattle and was waived during the 2020 season. He was picked up by the Steelers and was waived/injured in 2021. After not playing a snap in the NFL, Christmas has bounced around a bit in the CFL by playing for Saskatchewan, Edmonton, and now Toronto, but at least he’s on the field. He’s notched one sack in each of his four CFL seasons in addition to 56 total tackles.
OL Kendall Randolph - Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Alabama alum was a UDFA signing by the Seahawks in 2023. He was part of the preseason roster before being waived on cutdown day. Randolph was signed by Winnipeg last year and made a few starts at right guard and left tackle. This season he’s been starting at right tackle.
How and where can I watch the CFL?
There are no CFL games today but typically the schedule has games on from Thursday-Sunday during the NFL offseason and then Friday-Saturdays during NFL season. In the United States, CBS Sports Network airs select games live. There’s also a free streaming service called CFL+ which is accessible to international viewers for all games (including the playoffs and Grey Cup). US viewers can watch the non-CBSSN games on CFL+.
We wrap this post up by looking at Luke Willson’s hair.
Seattle Seahawks v San Francisco 49ers Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images