Canadian defensive lineman Eddie Steele, who played the last two seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, is retiring according to his Instagram.
Currently a free agent, the 30-year-old spoke to 630 Ched in Edmonton about his future.
“Right now as a CFL player I am retired, essentially. It has not officially been announced, I have talked to some teams, but I actually had to even turn down some teams who have offered,” Steele said. “I never would have thought that being a kid from Winnipeg, always wanting to play for my hometown team, but here I am at the end of the road and I actually had to turn them down in terms of contract offer.”
It’s been a hell of a run. After winning a Vanier Cup with the University of Manitoba Bisons in 2007, Steele was selected in the third round of the 2010 CFL draft by Hamilton. Steele played three seasons with the Ticats before tearing his patellar tendon in a game against Edmonton in 2012.
Steele joined the Eskimos the next season and won a Grey Cup with the club in 2015. He followed Chris Jones to Saskatchewan in time for the 2017 season and played in 15 games last year.
In total, Steele played eight seasons in the CFL, appearing in 123 games, 74 starts, making 145 tackles, 18 sacks, one forced fumble and one interception.
He’s also a good dude. I covered Steele during his time in Hamilton and always found him to be a thoughtful, interesting guy. This video is just a snippet but it’s an encapsulation of the nature of the man.
