OUT OF THE TUNNEL: CFL QB’S IN THE NFL

There has been a steady stream of Canadian players infiltrating the NFL over the past five seasons but a former CFL quarterback making an NFL roster has become incredibly rare when it never used to be.

Since 1960 we found 21 quarterbacks that made the jump from the CFL to the NFL/AFL (three are a bit of a stretch but that will come later) but there have been only two to make the jump since 2000.

Henry Burris played with Calgary and Saskatchewan between 1997- 2000 before giving the NFL a shot with the Green Bay Packers in 2001. Burris made the Chicago Bears main roster in 2002 and played in six games. Now in 2020, Streveler is the other.

Jeff Garcia played in the 2000’s but made the NFL jump in 1999. So in the past couple of years, the quarterback talent travelling south has been thin.

It begins when the CFL was in direct competition with the NFL (and the AFL) in the 50’s and 60’s. Eagle Day, Lee Grosscup, Al Dorow, Frank Tripuka, Pete Liske, Tobin Rote all flipped back and forth between the two leagues. CFL Hall of Famers Sam Etcheverry and Joe Kapp also made the jump during that era. Etcheverry was upset with a trade to Hamilton so he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals and Joe Kapp was involved in one of the only CFL/NFL trades that saw him head to Minnesota.

The 70’s and 80’s didn’t see many make the leap with just Joe Pisarcik and Joe Theismann heading south in the 1970’s for long NFL careers after a couple of years in the CFL.

Now things get fun. The 80’s saw three big names make the jump.Two were CFL Hall of Famers and one was a big time signing that started the end of a franchise. 

One of the most famous was Edmonton’s Warren Moon who is the only CFL and Pro Football Hall of Famer. Dieter Brock finished a Hall of Fame career before playing one season with the Los Angeles Rams in 1985 before injuries ended his career. 

Then there was Vince Ferragamo. He was a big splash, high priced signee with the Montreal Alouettes in 1981 but lasted just the one season, right around the time the Alouettes started on their slide out of the CFL.

The 90’s saw the greatest player in CFL history grace the field and a handful of rag tag names.

Doug Flutie came to the CFL after playing in the USFL’s New Jersey Generals in 1985 and four seasons with Chicago and New England between 1986 -1989. When he entered the CFL in 1990, the record books would begin to be rewritten.

Flutie played eight seasons in the CFL with B.C., Calgary and Toronto before giving the NFL a second shot in 1998 that ended up in six more seasons with Buffalo, San Diego and New England.

Now for the four surprise names from the 1990’s. They include two that got their chance to play the Canadian game from the CFL’s experiment in the U.S. Kerwin Bell’s first season in the CFL was in 1993 with the Sacramento Gold Miners and after two seasons there he played with Edmonton, followed by two years with Indianapolis in 1996 before returning to the CFL. Billy Joe Tolliver’s CFL career lasted just one season with the Shreveport Pirates.

There is also Erik Kramer and Sean Salisbury who used the CFL as a springboard back into the NFL in the 1990’s.

Now to the three question marks. The first is Gilbert Renfroe who was on the Minnesota Vikings roster in 1990 but never played a snap of football. The other two were scab players who were part of the NFL’s replacement games in 1987. Tony Adams played with Toronto in 1979 and 1980 and was a replacement player for Minnesota and CFL vet Bernard Quarles played with Calgary and Saskatchewan then in 1987 he played one game with the replacement L.A. Rams and went 1-3 for 40 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

After all of this, it’s just Garcia, Burris and Streveler. There are a few reasons that pop to mind.

The big one is a combination of money and politics. The NFL and the amount of money invested in players, especially quarterback’s makes it tough for a free agent and usually older player to make the jump south. NFL front offices don’t want to admit their mistakes and give up on a quarterback that they either drafted or signed, even though a CFL quarterback may be a better alternative.

The NFL has also been better at drafting quarterbacks. Yes, they do have a lot of bombs but there isn’t as many as there have been in the past. 

They have finally eliminated the stigma of the Black quarterback. This is one of the biggest and heartbreaking parts of the on field NFL product in the past. So many great quarterbacks never got their chance because of the colour of their skin. The CFL was their lone chance to play the game they loved at the position they excelled.

Finally, the game was much different between the leagues. The CFL was the wide open, run around league where smaller quarterbacks had a chance. The NFL was the land of the 6’4” or bigger quarterback who had pinpoint accuracy and could stand in the pocket and take a slew of punishment.

Now as the two games are closer together we may see another resurgence of quarterbacks like Chris Streveler get their shot at making an NFL roster.

Canadian to watch in the NCAA
Josh Palmer (Sr.)
Wide receiver – Tennessee
6’2” 210
Brampton, Ontario
High school – St. Thomas Aquinas (Florida)

Seeing the field as a freshman, Josh Palmer is entering his final season in the NCAA with the Volunteers. He had a solid 2019 with 34 catches for 457 yards and a touchdown in a very pedestrian Tennessee offence.

After starting his high school career in Brampton, Palmer headed south to play for St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. While there he was second team all-Florida in the 7A division.