Steelers Now
Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Derwin Gray has a new professional home in the Canadian Football League for the 2025 season. Gray signed with the B.C. Lions for this summer CFL season on Wednesday.
He’ll be playing in Canada for the first time. Gray spent the last two seasons in the UFL.
Gray, 29, was the Steelers’ seventh-round pick in there 2019 NFL Draft out of Maryland, where he had played tackle, but he converted to guard in the NFL. The 6-foot-34, 320-pound lineman played two seasons with the Steelers, spending his entire rookie year on the practice squad, and playing in three games as a backup guard in 2020.
The Steelers waived Gray from their active roster on Dec. 26, 2020, and he was claimed by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars cut him the following August, and he was claimed by the Tennessee Titans, where he spent two seasons without playing a game.
Gray caught on with the Birmingham Stallions, then of the USFL, in 2023. He made eight starts as Birmingham won a USFL title in 2023, and then returned for a second run at a championship in the newly formed UFL in 2024. He played in all 10 games and made nine starts, plus two more in the playoffs, included Birmingham’s win in the inaugural UFL Championship.
Gray is one among a number of former Steelers players have found new homes in the CFL this offseason. Defensive lineman Demarcus Christmas signed with the Toronto Argonauts, running back Daijun Edwards has signed with the Montreal Alouettes, wide receiver Tevin Jones will play for the Calgary Stampeders and running back Qadree Ollison is also with the B.C. Lions.
The 2025 CFL season will start on June 5, with the 112th edition of the Grey Cup in Winnipeg, Manitoba on Nov. 16.
