Funkerstation » s -- last years team and so far this tra

The CFL season will end Sunday night with the Grey Cup between the Ottawa Redblacks and the Calgary Stampeders (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2), drawing the curtain on football north of the border until next summer. Most players will return home, set to begin training for 2017 or work offseason jobs or both.A few, however, will make a run at jumping to the NFL. Theyll follow the dreams that made players such as Warren Moon, Joe Horn and Cameron Wake into pro football stars in the United States.More often, their efforts will fall short. More than a dozen CFL players signed free-agent contracts with NFL teams last spring, and the most prominent have been cornerbacks Erik Harris (New Orleans Saints) and Josh Johnson (Jacksonville Jaguars). Each has appeared in four games this season. (Receiver Eric Rogers, for whom the San Francisco 49ers had high hopes, tore an ACL in August.)Who could be on the NFL radar this spring? What follows are 10 names to keep in mind, knowing that contract issues might need to be resolved in some cases. The list was compiled from a variety of NFL and CFL sources.Receiver Derel Walker, Edmonton Eskimos2016 CFL stats: 109 receptions, 1,589 yards, 10 touchdowns in 18 gamesCollege: Texas A&MWalker, 25, played with Johnny Manziel for the Aggies, but his 40-yard dash time of 4.65 didnt impress many scouts. The Tennessee Titans cut him during their 2014 training camp, and he was left to sign a practice-squad contract in the CFL. Since he got a chance, however, he has become one of the CFLs most productive receivers the past two seasons. At 6 feet 2 he has enough height, ball skills and route-running ability -- and now strong tape -- to merit a second look.Tight end Antony Auclair, Universite Laval2016 CIS stats: 17 receptions, 229 yards, two touchdowns in eight gamesIts rare for a Canadian college player to jump straight to the NFL, but Auclair, 23, has all of the specs to draw interest. At 6-6 and 254 pounds, and with 4.84 speed, he certainly fits the part of an NFL tight end. A half-dozen NFL teams reportedly scouted Auclair in a recent playoff game, and its possible hell get a chance to try out this spring -- if he isnt drafted -- and skip the step of playing in the CFL altogether.Wide receiver Bryan Burnham, BC Lions2016 CFL stats: 79 receptions, 1,392 yards, three touchdowns in 18 gamesCollege: TulsaBurnham, 26, played behind two better-known receivers, Emmanuel Arceneaux and Shawn Gore, but Burnham emerged as a highly productive -- if nontraditional, at 6-2 -- slot receiver in 2016. He looked like somebody that was a step ahead of most of the people here, said Marshall Ferguson, a former quarterback at Canadas McMaster University and now a radio analyst for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.Wide receiver DaVaris Daniels, Calgary Stampeders2016 CFL stats: 51 receptions, 885 yards, nine touchdowns in 11 gamesCollege: Notre DameAfter being waived by both the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots this summer, Daniels, 23, moved to the CFL and earned the outstanding rookie award. He carries some baggage following his departure from Notre Dame, but his season in Canada has proceeded without incident. Hes the kind of guy that if he has a crazy-great game in the Grey Cup, we may never see him again [in the CFL], Ferguson said.Offensive lineman Hunter Steward, BC Lions2016 CFL stats: 18 startsCollege: LibertyDuring three years in the CFL, the 6-6 Steward developed into a 315-pound specimen who could merit a look from a league that is desperate for offensive line depth. Steward, 24, is a Calgary native who certainly?looks like an NFL lineman.Offensive lineman Matt ODonnell, Edmonton Eskimos2016 CFL stats: 17 startsCollege: Queenss (Canada)ODonnell, 27, is on this list in part because he is 6-11 -- 6-11! -- 350 pounds and, well, that would be fun. He has already gotten a few NFL looks, with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2012 and 2015, and once had a workout with the Boston Celtics. The CFL might be his best option, both financially and for playing time, but after five years in Canada he might merit another NFL glance.Cornerback Emanuel Davis, Hamilton Tiger-Cats2016 CFL stats: 55 tackles, five interceptions in 17 gamesCollege: East CarolinaHe has intercepted five passes in each of the past two seasons and did it this year despite two broken fingers. (He has since had surgery.) His interception total ranked No. 3 in the CFL this season. At age 27, he might be down to his final chance to break into the NFL.Linebacker Deon Lacey, Edmonton Eskimos2016 CFL stats: 87 tackles, three interceptions, one sack in 18 gamesCollege: West AlabamaLacey, 26, spent time in the Dallas Cowboys training camp in 2013 before playing the past three seasons in Edmonton. He could be a good fit for an NFL team that needs to stock the special-teams end of its roster. He had six sacks in the 2015 season.Defensive back Kevin Fogg, Winnipeg Blue Bombers2016 CFL stats: 79 tackles, four interceptions, 14.2-yard average on punt returnsCollege: LibertyFogg, 26, got some interest in 2014 from NFL teams enamored by his speed and return skills, spending time with both the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers. But he has now put a season of defense on tape for scouts to see, even if it only relates to his adaptability to special teams, and could be more marketable now.Receiver Terrence Toliver, Hamilton Tiger-Cats2016 CFL stats: 65 receptions, 1,036 yards, nine touchdowns in 13 gamesCollege: LSUToliver had five short stints with NFL teams between 2011 and 2015 but among other things is pretty skinny (203 pounds) for his 6-5 frame. Toliver is 28, so its not clear how much bigger hell get. But when given an opportunity over the past two seasons in the CFL, he has produced. Fake Yeezy . -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move and then let go with a soft floater from about 10 feet that swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse. Replica Yeezy .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. https://www.wholesaleyeezyauthentic.com/ . After Martin Skrtel put the Reds in front from close range at Stamford Bridge after only four minutes, Hazard hit back in the 17th with a superb strike. Etoo gave Jose Mourinhos team a decisive lead from Oscars back pass in the 34th. Yeezy Shoes . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Wholesale Yeezy Authentic .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. GLENDALE, Ariz. -- As has been repeated many times by now, the Arizona Cardinals still have every player on offense who gained a yard or scored a point for the prolific team last season.So the first units showing in preseason games doesnt seem to mean much to them.Coach Bruce Arians said he expects quarterback Carson Palmer to play less than a half when the Cardinals play at Houston on Sunday night. How much the rest of the starters play will depend on how they perform, but dont expect it to be more than a half.I honestly dont think about the game, Palmer said before practice Wednesday. Im focused on the practices and the walk-throughs and the meetings. Youre never going to show your hand in the preseason.Palmer returns from the best season hes had in his 14 years in the NFL. He set franchise records in yards passing (4,671), touchdown passes (35) and passer rating (104.6) while leading the team to a 13-3 record. But the season ended badly when he and just about everyone else on the team played poorly in a blowout loss to Carolina in the NFC championship game, a performance that has served as motivation.The Cardinals expect this years offense to be even better. Larry Fitzgerald, whose 109 catches last season broke the franchise record he set a decade earlier, listed some of the reasons.Out of the gate (running back) David (Johnson) is going to be starting for us, he said. He came on strong for us later in the season. If David would have started (all season) theres no telling, he might have had 20 touchdowns (he had 13) last year. Hes just that talented. Our tight end group has gotten much better. Our receivers group is pretty much the same and guys in that group are getting better. ... Weve got guys that can play.Injuries have depleted that deep receiving corps in training camp. John Brown has been out with a concussion, J.J. Nelson has been slowed by a groin injury and Fitzgerald missed last Fridays loss at San Diego with a sore knee. Fitzgerald practiced Sunday but took Monday and Wednesday off.That opened the way for Jaron Brown, who Arians described at one point as the best receiver we have.The Carrdinals have depth at the skill positions: Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington at running back, Nelson and Jaron Brown behind starters Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and John Brown at wide receiver and Darren Fells, Jermaine Gresham and Troy Niklas at tight end.ddddddddddddThe 6-foot-6, 270-pound Niklas, a second-round draft pick out of Notre Dame in 2014, has had a big camp and is pushing for a starting job.The first unit drove the length of the field before settling for a field goal in its only series in the preseason opener against Oakland and failed to score in three series at San Diego. Palmer had an interception returned for a touchdown against the Chargers.But he is not concerned.Weve had 15 reps in preseason games, Palmer said. Weve had thousands of reps thus far in training camp. Weve had tens of thousands of reps together as a unit. Theres enough data looking back at all the plays -- last years team and so far this training camp. Thats where you get your confidence and you see what youre made of, looking at so many reps that weve put together as a group, not three series as an offense in preseason games.Arizona, one of the top scoring teams in the league all season, has been outscored 50-13 in its two preseason losses.Again, the players say thats no big deal.The older you get, I hate to say, that preseason is drudgery, Fitzgerald said. Obviously you have to go out there and play but it doesnt mean anything in the standings. The Detroit Lions, when they went 0-16, they were 4-0 in preseason.Of course, the Cardinals would like to have a good showing against the Texans. Theyre even preparing a bit of a game plan, mostly for the exercise of doing it, Palmer said.The pride in our group and our guys is we want to play well, Palmer said, but the focus is more around here each day and handling that day and that task at hand.Most importantly, Arians, Palmer and Fitzgerald all emphasized, come out of the game healthy.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '