The Saskatchewan Roughriders have signed four American players, including defensive back Tedric Thompson, receiver John Ursua, and defensive linemen Brayden Thomas and Caleb Sanders.
Thompson was a fourth-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in the 2017 NFL Draft out of the University of Colorado Boulder. He played 29 games over three seasons with the team, making 80 tackles, three interceptions, five pass knockdowns, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.
The six-foot, 204-pound defender signed with the Kansas City Chiefs following his release in March 2020 and played eight games with the team, making 13 tackles. He has since had stints with the Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, and Tennessee Titans.
The native of Inglewood, Calif. played four collegiate seasons with the Buffaloes and made 246 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 13 interceptions, 34 pass deflections, and one forced fumble over 34 games. He was named second-team All-Pac 12 as a senior after finishing third in the country with seven interceptions.
Ursua was a seventh-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in the 2019 NFL Draft and spent three years with the team, dressing for three games as a rookie and recording one reception for 11 yards.
The five-foot-nine, 182-pound target played three collegiate seasons at the University of Hawaii where he made 189 catches for 2,662 yards and 24 touchdowns over 33 games with the Rainbow Warriors. He also carried the ball six times for 12 yards and two touchdowns and returned 10 punts for 74 yards.
The native of Kailua-Kona, Ha. led the entire NCAA in touchdown catches in his final college season in 2018 with 16. He also finished fifth nation-wide with 1,343 receiving yards. He was named his team’s Most Valuable Player, a first-team All-Mountain West selection, and was a semi-finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award, which is given to the most outstanding receiver in college football.
Thomas went unselected in the 2022 NFL Draft before joining the Los Angeles Rams as a free agent, making the active roster for one game as a rookie. The six-foot-three, 255-pound defender played two collegiate seasons at North Dakota State and made 55 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, one pass knockdown, and one blocked field goal over 22 games. He was named first-team All-MVFC as a senior and helped the Bison capture the National Championship at the NCAA Division I FCS level.
Sanders went unselected in the 2023 NFL Draft but participated in rookie minicamp with the New York Giants and training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles. He dressed for one preseason game with the club and made three tackles.
The six-foot-one, 287-pound defender recorded 137 tackles, 42.5 tackles for loss, 20.5 sacks, two pass knockdowns, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery over 66 collegiate games at South Dakota State. He served as a team captain as a senior in 2022 and was named first-team FCS All-America by the Associated Press. He also helped the Jackrabbits win a National Championship at the NCAA Division I FCS level.
The Riders (6-6) are scheduled to host the Edmonton Elks (3-10) on Friday, Sept. 15 with kickoff slated for 9:30 p.m. EDT.
