Long-time CFL kicker/punter Lirim Hajrullahu as agreed to terms on a contract with the Dallas Cowboys, according to the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Hajrullahu most recently played in The Spring League and set a record by hitting a 59-yard field goal for The Generals. He was playing in TSL in hopes of earning another NFL opportunity.
In January, Hajrullahu signed a futures contract with the Carolina Panthers, but he was released in March.
The Los Angeles Rams cut Hajrullahu at the end of training camp last August. 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.
The Western University product 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 has the talent to kick in the NFL, he just needs an opportunity to prove it.
