Field Gulls
Happy Canada Day!
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.
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...
