The Saskatchewan Roughriders have signed American quarterback Shea Patterson, the team announced on Monday.
The six-foot-one, 212-pound passer signed his first CFL contract with the B.C. Lions in June 2021 but was released three months later when the team signed former NFL quarterback Danny Etling. Patterson joined the Montreal Alouettes the following week and recorded 13 carries for 23 yards over five games in a depth role behind veteran passers Vernon Adams Jr. and Trevor Harris.
The six-foot-two, 202-pound passer was released by the Als in February 2022 in order to pursue the USFL. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the rebooted league’s inaugural draft and became the starting quarterback for the Michigan Panthers. He completed 59.4 percent of his passes for 943 yards, four touchdowns, and five interceptions over six games with the team before being released just past the midway point of the season.
The 26-year-old went unselected in the 2020 NFL Draft but attended training camp with the Kansas City Chiefs before a brief stint in The Spring League.
The native of Toledo, Ohio transferred from Ole Miss to Michigan for his final two years of NCAA eligibility (2018-2019). He threw for 5,661 passing yards as a Wolverine, which ranks seventh on the program’s all-time list ahead of NFL legend Tom Brady and Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. He was also a two-time All-Big Ten selection and won the school’s Offensive Player of the Year award in 2018.
