ALOUETTES SIGN FORMER RIDER

The Montreal Alouettes announced on Friday that the team has added two veteran international defensive backs to the roster, as Chris Thompson and Rod Williams both signed one-year contracts with the club.

Thompson (6’0″, 200 lbs.) brings no less than 10 years of professional football experience with him, including seven in the CFL where he was twice named a League All-Star (2008, 2010). The 32-year old played five seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos and two with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, racking up 308 defensive tackles in 115 games while picking off 30 passes and forcing eight fumbles. In four career-playoff games, he collected ten defensive tackles and two interceptions.

Prior to joining the Eskimos in 2007, the New Orleans, LA native played in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills. In 12 games with the Bears in 2005, he made ten tackles while recovering a fumble. Following his collegiate career with the Nicholls State University Colonels, where he amassed 136 tackles and 11 interceptions, he was drafted in the fifth round (150th total) by the Jaguars in the 2004 NFL Draft. He set a team record with eight-career blocked kicks with the Colonels.

Williams (5’11”, 180 lbs.) played in the CFL for five seasons, including the last two with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, helping the team lift the Grey Cup in 2013. He had his best season in 2014 when he cumulated 64 defensive tackles while picking off two passes and recovering two fumbles.

The 27 year-old amassed 183 defensive tackles and 13 interceptions over the course of his CFL career. After three seasons with the Eskimos, the Monroe, LA native joined the Minnesota Vikings in 2013 before returning to the CFL with Saskatchewan. He played his college football with the Alcorn State University Braves where he recorded 27 tackles while knocking down seven passes during his senior year.