Photo: Boston College Football/Joe Sullivan
Canadian offensive lineman Kyle Hergel has signed with the Chicago Bears, joining their practice roster.
The native of Toronto, Ont. worked out for the team a little over a month ago but remained unsigned until Tuesday. He also worked out for the Tennessee Titans, Minnesota Vikings, and Buffalo Bills in recent weeks.
Hergel dressed for eight regular-season games with the New Orleans Saints last year, playing 45 offensive snaps and 26 special teams snaps. He originally joined the team as a free agent after going unselected in the 2024 NFL Draft and participated in training camp earlier this year, though he was released amid final roster cuts.
The six-foot-three, 302-pound blocker’s exclusive CFL rights belong to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who selected him in the first round of the 2024 CFL Draft.
Hergel played his final collegiate season at Boston College in 2023 where he was named an All-ACC honourable mention at guard. He spent the two previous seasons at Texas State where he was named third-team All-Sun Belt in 2022.
The 26-year-old started his collegiate career at the University of North Dakota where he was named the FCS Independent Newcomer of the Year in 2019. Over 54 career collegiate starts, he allowed five sacks and 32 pressures on 1,774 pass-blocking snaps.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders (12-6) will host the B.C. Lions (12-7) in the West Final at Mosaic Stadium in Regina on Saturday, November 8 with kickoff slated for 6:30 p.m. EST.The Lions defeated the Calgary Stampeders by a score of 33-30 in the West Semi-Final, while the Roughriders were on bye after finishing atop the West Division standings.
The weather forecast in Regina calls for a high of minus-three degrees with a 60 percent chance of flurries. The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on 730 CKNW in Vancouver and 620 CKRM in Regina.