By Brad Hubbard | @bradhubbard
Michael Sam is going to get his shot at professional football alright but it will be north of the border. Sam signed a two year deal with the Canadian Football League’s (CFL) Montreal Alouettes. It’s not only the right move but a smart one.
Sam is a pass rusher plain and simple. He may not be the prototypical NFL pass rusher but he is a pass rusher none the less. Well that’s what you do in the CFL. With only three downs, a wider field and unlimited motion, the game is tailored for someone with Sam’s skill set. He can pretty much pin his ears back and get after the quarterback all day long. People seem to forget that Sam was a consensus first team All-American, SEC Defensive Player of the Year and pretty much a bad ass on a very good Missouri team in 2013.
On paper Sam doesn’t fit the NFL mold for an outside rusher. So be it. A lot of players weren’t good enough ‘on paper’ and went on to have tremendous careers in the NFL while cutting their teeth in the CFL (Warren Moon for example). Now Sam has an opportunity to prove to the NFL that paper doesn’t matter, it’s what you do on the field that matters. Sam can follow in the footsteps of current NFL standout Cameron Wake who has gone on to be one of the better pass rushers in the league. If Sam can put up some decent numbers and show improvement when it comes to setting the edge then he will get another shot in the NFL.
Sam is in the right place. He has a chance to not just be a solid pass rusher for the Al’s but he has a chance to be one of the more dominant pass rushers the CFL has seen in a long time. Throw in a great city like Montreal and Sam may just decide that Canada suits him just fine.
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