Skip to content

Canadian tight end Luke Willson released by NFL's Oakland Raiders

Luke Willson is looking for a new home.

The veteran tight end from LaSalle, Ont., was released Friday night by Oakland as NFL teams finalized their 53-man rosters. Willson, 29, signed a one-year deal with the Raiders after spending the 2018 campaign with the Detroit Lions.

The six-foot-five, 254-pound Willson began his NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks after being selected in the fifth round, No. 158 overall, in the 2013 NFL draft out of Rice. He has started 45-of-86 career games and registered 102 catches for 1,216 yards with 11 TDs.

Willson, who's CFL rights are owned by the Toronto Argonauts, has also participated in nine NFL playoff games, having accumulated 13 receptions for 154 yards and a touchdown.

Willson started eight-of-14 games with Detroit and had 13 catches for 87 yards. He a career-high four touchdown catches in 2017 with Seattle and established personal highs in catches (22) and receiving yards (362) in 2014.

As a rookie, Willson started seven-of-16 games with Seattle and had 20 catches for 272 yards while helping the Seahawks win Super Bowl XLVIII.

Linebacker Alex Singleton and receiver Marken Michel, both former Calgary Stampeders, were released by the Philadelphia Eagles. Singleton, the CFL's top defensive player in 2017, recorded 322 tackles, four sacks, six forced fumbles, two fumble recovers over three seasons with the Stampeders while Michel had 72 catches for 1,215 yards and eight TDs in 24 regular-season games with the CFL club.

Defensive lineman Mathieu Betts, a 24-year-old Montreal native who helped Laval capture two Vanier Cups, was released by the Chicago Bears. The six-foot-three, 259-pound Betts had 33.5 career sacks with the Rouge et Or and three times captured the J.P. Metras Trophy as Canadian university football's top lineman after being named U Sports' top rookie in 2015.

Betts was selected in the first round, third overall, of the 2019 CFL draft by the Edmonton Eskimos but signed with Chicago as a free agent.

The Bears also reportedly released American linebacker Jameer Thurman. The six-foot, 226-pound Thurman had 134 tackles, three sacks, three interceptions and three forced fumbles over two seasons (35 regular-season games) with Calgary.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks