Ticats release Canadian kicker Lirim Hajrullahu to pursue NFL opportunities

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced Thursday that the football club has released national placekicker Lirim Hajrullahu so he can pursue opportunities in the National Football League.

Hajrullahu signed a two-year contract extension through the 2020 season last April. He worked out for the Seattle Seahawks in January 2019. 

The 29-year-old played in all 18 regular season games with the Tiger-Cats in 2019, converting 47-of-55 field goal attempts (85.5 percent) and 26-of-28 single convert attempts (92.8 percent), while averaging 43.1 yards per punt on 106 attempts.

The 5-11, 205-pound native of St. Catherines, Ontario ranked first in the CFL in field goals made (tie-47), third in scoring (162 points) and sixth in field goal percentage. Hajrullahu earned division all-star honours for the first time in Hamilton and second time in his career (2016 and 2019).

Hajrullahu was the only Canadian in the league that handled all kicking duties for a franchise.