New England Patriots Work Out Five CFL Stars

The New England Patriots are always turning over every stone they can in pursuit of an edge, and that hunger to improve has apparently led them north of the border. According to ESPN's Mike Reiss, the team worked out five CFL players with an eye toward the 2023 season.

The Patriots had the following Canadian Football League players in for free-agent workouts, perhaps with an eye towards 2023:

🏈 QB Tre Ford
🏈 DB Tyrell Ford
🏈 WR Kurleigh Gittens
🏈 DB Rodney Randle
🏈 WR Kian Schaffer-Baker
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) January 3, 2023

Quarterback Tre Ford is a Canadian-born 24-year-old passer who played limited snaps for the Edmonton Elks in 2022. He passed for 8003 yards, 64 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions over five seasons at Waterloo and added another 2816 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground.

Defensive back Tyrell Ford was the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' 13th overall pick in the 2022 CFL Draft. He earned second-team All-Canadian honors in 2019 and 2021 with Waterloo. He was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Wide receiver Kurleigh Gittens played for the 2022 Grey Cup Champion Toronto Argonauts. He finished the season sixth in the league with 1101 receiving yards.

Wide receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker was born in Mississauga, Ontario and was drafted 30th overall by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2020. He has totalled 1523 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 30 appearances with the team.

Defensive back Rodney Randle nabbed two interceptions for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2022. The 25-year-old is the only non-Canadian among the workouts; he was born in Beaumont, Texas.

It's been a while since a CFL star made the transition to the NFL and was an impactful player, but it isn't completely unprecedented. Five-time Pro Bowler and former Miami Dolphins great Cameron Wake tallied 100.5 sacks in 11 NFL seasons after dominating the CFL for the BC Lions from 2007 to 2008.