Four players with CFL connections sign with NFL teams

Four players with CFL connections have signed futures contracts with NFL clubs.

Former Edmonton Eskimo defensive back Aaron Grymes (Philadelphia), Winnipeg Blue Bomber draft pick Andy Mulumba (Oakland), B.C. Lions draft pick Brett Boyko (San Diego) and Eskimo draft pick Tevaun Smith (Indianapolis) all inked deals with NFL teams.

Futures contracts are the same as a regular active roster contracts, with rules for minimum veteran salaries, cap charges and signing bonuses but they do not take effect until the next league year. Teams can sign players to futures contracts as soon as the regular season is over but the contract doesn’t count against the salary cap or 53-man limit. Instead, it counts against the salary cap and 90-man camp limit of the following season.

Any player who was not on an active roster at the end of the regular season is eligible to sign a futures contract and can no longer be signed by any other NFL or CFL team.

Grymes played three seasons with Edmonton from 2013 to 2015, earning CFL all-star honours his final season while helping the Eskimos win the Grey Cup. He signed with Eagles last February and spent most of the season on the practice roster, appearing in one game.

Mulumba was taken by the Bombers second overall in the 2013 CFL Draft but signed with Green Bay in May of that year. He played in 22 games over the three seasons with the Packers before signing with Kansas City in April of 2016. He was released in September.

A Saskatoon native, Boyko was taken 14th overall by the B.C. Lions in 2015 and signed with the Eagles on April 31 of that year. He spent this season with the Chargers but has yet to appear in a regular season game.

Smith was taken by Edmonton in the first round of the 2016 CFL Draft (No. 8 overall) and signed with the Colts last May. He played in two games this season while spending the rest of the year on the practice roster.