Argos activate former NFL playmaker Dexter McCluster

The Toronto Argonauts have activated former NFL running back and returner Dexter McCluster for their Week 16 game in Calgary.

The Argos worked McCluster out and signed him in July, but shortly after he joined the double blue the 29-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in practice which put his CFL debut on hold until now.

McCluster was a second-round pick, 36th overall in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. He ran a 4.53 40-yard time, 4.06 short shuttle, 6.73 three-cone, 37.5-inch vertical and 20 reps on the bench press at the 2010 NFL Combine.

McCluster played seven seasons in the NFL for the Chiefs, Titans and Chargers rushing 250 times for 1,042 yards and two touchdowns, recording 236 receptions for 1,933 yards and seven touchdowns, returned 74 kickoffs for 1,554 yards, 133 punts for 1,388 yards and three touchdowns. 2013 was McCluster’s best year in the NFL when he earned a trip to the Pro Bowl as a returner after producing 686 punt return yards and two touchdowns.

McCluster played collegiately at the University of Mississippi, he rushed for 1,169 yards and eight touchdowns while catching 44 balls for 520 yards and three touchdowns, totalling 1,689 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior for the Rebels, earning first-team All-SEC (Southeastern conference) honours.

McCluster has been out of pro football since 2016 when he suffered a broken forearm while looking for his cellphone.