Jovan Olafioye
No. 63     Retired
Born: (1987-12-16) December 16, 1987
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Career information
StatusRetired
CFL statusAmerican
Position(s)OL
Height6 ft 6 in (198 cm)
Weight325 lb (147 kg)
CollegeNorth Carolina Central
Career history
As player
2010–2016BC Lions
2012St. Louis Rams*
2017Montreal Alouettes
2018BC Lions
*Offseason and/or practice roster member only
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star2011–2016
CFL West All-Star2010–2016
AwardsCFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman, 2012
DeMarco-Becket Memorial Trophy, 2011, 2012, 2015
Career stats

Jovan Olafioye (born December 16, 1987) is a former professional Canadian football offensive lineman. He signed with the BC Lions as a free agent, after going undrafted in the 2009 NFL Draft. Jovan attended the 2009 Detroit Lions rookie mini camp.[1] He played junior college football at Grand Rapids Community College for a year before attending North Carolina Central University.

Professional career

BC Lions

Olafioye signed with the BC Lions on April 20, 2010, and started all 18 games en route to being named a CFL West All-Star. For the next six seasons, he again started all 18 games and was named a CFL All-Star (All Pro) every year, while also winning the CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award in 2012. The 7x West All Star was also a runner-up to the award in 2011 and 2015. He won his first Grey Cup championship with the Lions in 2011. Following the 2016 BC Lions season in March 2017, rumours began circulating that the Lions were seeking to deal Olafioye to the Alouettes.[2]

St. Louis Rams

In 2012, there were as many as 15 NFL teams interested in working out Olafioye during the option year window following his second season with B.C.[3] The St. Louis Rams guaranteed him $85,000 in base salary in the first two years. But after agreeing to terms, Olafioye’s contract was disapproved four days later when he failed his physical.[4]

Montreal Alouettes

On March 27, 2017, Olafioye was traded to the Montreal Alouettes in exchange for the rights to Canadian lineman David Foucault and Vincent Brown. With an estimated salary of $200,000 it was reported the Lions made the deal to free up some cap space.[5] One week after being traded to Montreal, Olafioye and the Als agreed to a 3-year contract extension through the 2019 CFL season.[6] He played in 12 games with the Alouettes in 2017 due to injuries and was released the day before the start of 2018 training camp on May 19, 2018.[7]

BC Lions (II)

Shortly after his release from the Alouettes, Olafioye re-signed with the BC Lions on May 19, 2018.[7] He announced his retirement from professional football after the 2018 CFL season.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Lions sign pair of import O-linemen". April 20, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Als in trade talks with Lions for Olafioye – Article – TSN". TSN. 2017-03-11. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
  3. ↑ Beamish, Mike (December 1, 2012). "B.C. Lions star Jovan Olafioye will sit, wait for NFL's call". vancouversun.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  4. ↑ Beamish, Mike (June 3, 2012). "Lions' luck holds with Jovan Olafioye". thestarphoenix.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Als get All-Star OL Olafioye from Lions – Article – TSN". TSN. 2017-03-27. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
  6. ↑ "Alouettes, Olafioye ink 3-year extension". CFL.ca. 2017-04-04. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  7. 1 2 "Olafioye released; quickly joins Lions". CFL.ca. 2018-05-19. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  8. ↑ "Big O Leaves Game With No Regrets". CFL.ca. 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.