As the resident Canadian here at Autzen Zoo, I thought I would fulfill my civic duty of keeping up with the CFL, and share it with readers.
While obviously the CFL is sub-par to the NFL, it is not your average spring or summer league that pop up every few years. It is not the AAF, XFL, or UFL. The season is longer than the NFL, there is much more continuity on rosters and coaching staffs, and there is a very rich history of football north of the border.
The CFL officially began as a league in 1958, but football has been played here since the 1800's. Teams began playing for the Grey Cup, the "Canadian Super Bowl" in 1909.
Many former Ducks have signed in the CFL, some for a "cup of coffee" like De'Anthony Thomas in 2022, but plenty have carved out a nice career for themselves in Canada.
Vernon Adams Jr. - QB - Calgary Stampeders
A couple things to understand about the CFL, is that some roster transactions make no sense, and there are restrictions as to how many Americans can suit up for gameday, to ensure a ratio of Canadians to Americans in the league.
Vernon Adams Jr. was playing at a league MVP level in 2024 while playing for the BC Lions, before former Ohio Bobcat and Canadian native Nathan Rourke returned from the NFL. When Rourke returned, Adams was benched, and ultimately moved on from the Lions in 2025.
He is now the starting quarterback for the Calgary Stampeders. In 2023, his most recent season as a full-time starter, Adams threw for 4769 yards, and 31 touchdowns. He is one of the most creative and athletic QB's in the league, and uses the massive Canadian football field to his benefit.
Adams enjoyed one very successful season as a Duck, as a grad transfer from FCS Eastern Washington. He threw for over 2500 yards and tossed 26 touchdowns, while leading the Ducks to a 9-3 record.
Dillon Mitchell - WR - Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Mitchell was a favorite target while playing for the Ducks, culminating in a career season in 2018, getting a Pac-12 leading 1184 receiving yards, and adding on 10 touchdowns to go with it.
Mitchell has been in the CFL since 2022, after spending a couple seasons on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad. He played three seasons for the Edmonton Elks, where he had nearly 2000 yards, and 12 TD in three seasons. 2024 was his career year, hauling in 58 catches for 727 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Winnipeg have been the most dominant team in the western conference as of late, appearing in three straight Grey Cups, losing all of them. Welcome back 1990's Buffalo Bills!
Jeremiah Masoli - QB - BC Lions
Masoli has been a staple in the CFL for well over a decade now, his most productive and successful seasons coming as a member of the Hamilton Tiger Cats.
He appeared in the Grey Cup in 2021, which the Ti-Cats ultimately lost. In his career north of the border, Masoli has almost 18,000 yards and has thrown for 87 touchdowns.
Before an incident ended his Oregon career early, and a transfer to Ole Miss ensued, Masoli had some legendary moments as a Duck. "The Battle for the Roses" matchup with Oregon State remains one of the most important and legendary games in Oregon's history. Masoli was the quarterback for that game and was a big reason Oregon came out on top.
He serves as the backup to the aforementioned Nathan Rourke for the BC Lions now.
Bralon Addison - WR - Ottawa Red Blacks
Addison was an electrifying player with the Ducks, putting up multiple 800 yard seasons, a great weapon for Chip Kelly and Mark Helfrich.
He has been in the CFL since 2018, spending time with both the Hamilton Tiger Cats and the Ottawa Red Blacks. His best season came in 2019, where he had 95 catches for over 1200 yards and 7 touchdowns.
He is currently on the Ottawa Red Blacks.
George Moore - Offensive Line - Toronto Argonauts
George Moore was a rotational offensive lineman for much of his Oregon career, which spanned from 2017-2021, but started his final season at both the guard and tackle spots.
After some time in the NFL, Moore enters his second season with the Argonauts of Toronto.
Bennett Williams - DB - Ottawa Red Blacks
Williams is in his second season in the CFL, both with Ottawa. Last season, he had 27 tackles, and a sack.
He started one full season with the Ducks, in 2022, where he had a productive 72 tackle season. Though, some very poor performances in big spots left him the villain in the eyes of Duck fans that year.
Dakota Prukop - Former QB, now QB Coach - Calgary Stampeders
Prukop, the former Duck from 2016-17 has been in the CFL since departing college football. He has never truly been a starting quarterback, but has had several backup roles, where he won a Grey Cup as a CFL rookie in 2017.
He carved out a solid niche for himself, becoming a QB sneak and redzone specialist, scoring nine rushing touchdowns in 2024, and has 24 in his CFL career.
This spring, it was announced that Prukop would become the quarterbacks coach for the Calgary Stampeders, meaning a former Duck is coaching a former Duck.
There used to be even more Ducks in the CFL some time ago, but ultimately, the less players you have in the CFL as a college program, the better. Since head coach Dan Lanning took over at Oregon in 2022, players have gone to the NFL at a rate previously unseen. As great as it is for my personal enjoyment, the lower rate of Ducks in the CFL is a good thing.
American audiences can watch the CFL on CBS Sports, while Canadians have it readily available on TSN.