Some call him “Lirim The Leg” and Lirim Hajrullahu showed why on Saturday afternoon at Rice Stadium in Houston, TX.
While playing in The Spring League for The Generals, Hajrullahu made all five of his field goals, including a 59-yard three-pointer in a 21-19 victory. TSL is playing a six-week season using two hub cities.
Canadian kicker Lirim Hajrullahu makes 59-yard field goal in The Spring Leaguehttps://t.co/Bo5hTg954b#TSL2021 l #CFL l #NFL pic.twitter.com/T6VkiqOgxq
— Justin Dunk (@JDunk12) May 9, 2021
The 31-year-old Hajrullahu is playing in The Spring League in hopes of earning another NFL opportunity. He was released by the Carolina Panthers in late March after signing a futures contract in January.
The Los Angeles Rams cut Hajrullahu at the end of training camp in August last year. He was by far the best statistical kicker, but the Rams chose to start the season with Sam Sloman who LA selected in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL draft. Hajrullahu went 10-for-13 in Los Angeles scrimmages while Sloman hit 8-of-13.
Hajrullahu played in all 18 regular season games with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2019, converting 47-of-55 field goal attempts (85.5 percent) and 26-of-28 single convert attempts (92.8 percent), while averaging 43.1 yards per punt on 106 attempts.
The five-foot-eleven, 205-pounder tied for first in the CFL in field goals made (47), third in scoring (162 points) and sixth in field goal percentage. Hajrullahu earned division all-star honours for the first time in Hamilton and second time in his career (2016 and 2019).
Born in Kosovo, Hajrullahu and his family fled the region when he was a nine-year-old as Serbian forces attacked their town. More than a million ethnic Albanians were displaced and 11,000 were killed in a war that lasted 18 months in the late 1990s.
The family ended up in a refugee camp in neighbouring Macedonia. The family bypassed a chance to immigrate to the U.S. and opted for Canada instead, ultimately settling in the St. Catharines area.
Hajrullahu is currently a free agent on both sides of the border.
