The Canadian Football League began a brand new season on Thursday with a Montreal Alouettes overtime thriller over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. This is a bit of a transition year for the CFL, with a new broadcast rights deal set to begin next year, along with a major set of rule changes that will soon move goalposts to the back of the end zone and reduce the size of the playing field. Oh yeah, and eight of nine teams get into the playoffs moving forward, which is stupid.
As is annual tradition at Field
Gulls, we like to comb through the CFL rosters and see if there are any former Seahawks we recognize. Maybe you remember some of these names from yesteryear! Everyone listed here has bare minimum been on a Seahawks training camp roster, even if they never played in a regular season game.
Levi Bell, DL – BC Lions
Bell was certainly a preseason standout in Pete Carroll’s final season, but never made the active roster. While he signed a reserve/future contract after the 2023 season, he was let go in May and had multiple UFL stints. In the CFL, Bell had 12 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble in his BC Lions debut season. He’s back for a second year in the Canadian part of the Pacific Northwest.
Incidentally, the Lions also had former Seahawks punt returner Jaelon Darden on the preseason roster, but he was let go during cutdown week.
Zy Alexander, CB – Calgary Stampeders (practice squad)
An intriguing UDFA last year, Alexander didn’t make it to training camp. The former LSU corner has had no foothold elsewhere, whether with the Buffalo Bills or UFL’s Houston Gamblers. Even in the CFL, Zy finds himself on the practice squad.
Joel Dublanko, LB – Edmonton Elks
Dublanko was on the Seahawks’ 2022 preseason roster and that’s as far as he got. His dad is Canadian and so are his grandparents, so he’s actually considered a domestic player instead of an “import.” After mostly playing special teams in 2024, Dublanko had 80 tackles on defense and a couple of sacks.
Kenny Lawler, WR – Hamilton Tiger-Cats
As we noted recently, Lawler just signed (by CFL standards) a massive contract, a major payoff for one of the league’s best receiver. Lawler was drafted by the Seahawks in 2016 and stuck around on the practice squad until 2017. As a CFL player, he’s racked up several All-Star honors and just posted an 86 catches/1,443 yards/14 touchdowns season. He began this year with four catches for 58 yards in a loss to Montreal.
Julian Howsare, DL – Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Howsare had three weeks on Seattle’s 2016 practice squad after starting out his NFL career with the New York Jets. Much like Lawler, he’s found success in Canada, and last year he had a career highlight by taking a fumble back for a touchdown.
Howsare has 45 sacks in his career, including a career-high 13 last year.
Pier-Olivier Lestage, OL – Montreal Alouettes
Lestage joined the Seahawks as a UDFA signing in 2021. He spent the entire season on the practice squad before signing with his hometown Alouettes the following year. Lestage won a Grey Cup in 2023 and has been Montreal’s starting left guard over the past few seasons, and he earned CFL East All-Star honors last year.
Bubba Bolden, DB – Montreal Alouettes
The former University of Miami safety signed with Seattle as a UDFA in 2022 but failed to make it onto the active roster. He’s bounced all around the NFL and UFL in subsequent years, and Montreal is his first stint in the Canadian Football League. Dating back to last season, Bolden has played three CFL games and put up zero stats.
Jonathan Sutherland, DB – Montreal Alouettes
I thought Sutherland had a chance to make Seattle’s roster when he signed as UDFA in 2023. He spent some time on Seattle’s practice squad before going to the New York Giants, where he similarly never cracked the game day roster. Pete Carroll brought him on board with the Las Vegas Raiders last year, to no avail. This is Sutherland’s first CFL season.
Kendall Randolph, OL – Toronto Argonauts
The former Alabama player was part of Seattle’s preseason group in 2023, only to be waived on cutdown day. Randolph previously played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and had some spot starts at guard and tackle. He just joined the Argos after Winnipeg let him go a few days ago.
Dakoda Shepley, OL – Toronto Argonauts
Hey! Someone who played on the Seahawks active roster. For eight games in 2021, Canada’s Shepley was part of the special teams unit as a blocking lineman for field goals and extra points. This is a return to the CFL for Shepley after playing with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2019.
Benjie Franklin, DB – Toronto Argonauts
And lastly, we have another Grey Cup champion! Franklin was signed by the Seahawks as a UDFA in June 2023, making it to the end of preseason but not any further than that. When the Argos won the Grey Cup in 2024, Franklin had a key interception.
How and where can I watch the CFL?
CFL action is typically Thursday-Sunday during the NFL offseason and then Friday-Saturdays during NFL season. In the United States, CBS Sports Network airs select games live and has Grey Cup rights. There’s also a free streaming service called CFL+ which is accessible to international viewers for all games (including the playoffs and Grey Cup). US viewers can watch the non-CBSSN games on CFL+. Starting in 2027, DAZN will carry live games outside of the United States as part of a media rights overhaul.
