The B.C. Lions have signed six American receivers, including Jeff Cotton, Taylor Grimes, Charles Headen III, Ed Lee, Mataio Talalemotu, and John Ursua.
Cotton spent portions of the 2022 NFL season on the practice roster with the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers. He was a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021 and dressed for one regular season game, though he didn’t register any statistics. He originally entered the league as a member of the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020.
The six-foot-two, 204-pound target from of Tucson, Ariz. native transferred to the University of Idaho for his final three years of NCAA eligibility and caught 132 passes for 1,732 yards and 13 touchdowns over 20 games with the Vandals. He also returned 16 kickoffs for 318 yards.
Grimes went unselected in the 2023 NFL Draft but participated in training camp with the Denver Broncos. The five-foot-ten, 186-pound target from Grapevine, Texas finished his collegiate career at the University of the Incarnate Word and made 170 receptions for 2,366 yards and 30 touchdowns over 26 games with the Cardinals.
Headen III was named the Special Teams Player of the Year with the Frisco Fighters of the Indoor Football League in 2023 after recording 52 returns for 1,143 yards. The native of Philadelphia, Penn. made 80 receptions for 909 yards and 14 touchdowns over 34 collegiate games at Shippensburg University at the NCAA Division II level.
Lee went unselected in the 2023 NFL Draft before joining the New England Patriots as a free agent. The five-foot-ten, 185-pound target made 86 catches for 1,262 yards and eight touchdowns over 37 games at the University of Rhode Island and also had an XFL stint with the Orlando Guardians.
Tatalemotu attended rookie minicamp with the Tennessee Titans in 2023 after going unselected out of Portland State University. The six-foot, 195-pound target made 121 receptions for 1,857 yards and 16 touchdowns over five collegiate seasons and earned three Academic All-Big Sky honours from 2018 to 2020.
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. He spent time on the practice roster with the Saskatchewan Roughriders this past season.
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.
