There are small number of Green Bay Packers from Canada. The National Football League is still a growing sport in many countries outside of North America. While the NFL is growing rapidly overseas, due to the league playing more and more games away from the United States, it is still one of the least diverse leagues in American professional sports. As of 2017, just 3% of NFL players were born outside the United States. Compare that to Major League Baseball, where over 28% of players were born overseas, or the National Basketball Association, where the number is slightly lower at 21%.
The NFL is still a dramatically American sport. Still, more foreign players are slowly coming in. Canada is one nation that continues to increase the number of NFL players in the league. Let’s look at some of the best Canadians in the NFL who have played in Green Bay.
Football in Canada
Before we get into the list, it’s essential to understand the context of football in Canada. Unlike many countries, Canada has a vibrant professional football league. The Canadian Football League is arguably the world’s strongest non-NFL professional football league. One reason it is so loved is that teams are not allowed to have more than 20 Americans on their roster with the hopes of promoting Canadian involvement in the sport.
Founded in 1958, there are nine teams in the league, and many stars have played in the CFL, including Doug Flutie and Warren Moon. The CFL is a football betting favorite in Canada and has often been the breeding ground of forgotten players seeking recognition from the NFL. Here are a few Canadian players, starting with a CFL graduate. It might be surprising to some but some of the Canadian team including the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats are far older than any US team, dating back to the 1860s. The Grey Cup — the CFL’s equivalent to the Super Bowl — is also far older than the American equivalent, having been donated as the league’s trophy in 1909 by Governor General Lord Earl Grey.
Green Bay Packers From Canada
Jon Ryan
While best known for his time with the Seattle Seahawks, longtime punter Jon Ryan got his start with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, Ryan played both punter and wide receiver at the University of Regina before getting selected for both positions in the third round of the 2004 Canadian College Draft. He spent two seasons with Winnipeg, leading the league with a 50.6 punt average, giving him an opportunity in the NFL.
In 2006, he signed a three-year, $965,000 contract with the Packers, making him the third Saskatchewan native to play in the NFL. However, after his second season, Green Bay cut Ryan. After the first week of the 2008 season, he caught on with the Seahawks, signing a two-year, $980,000 contract. After two strong seasons, he signed a six-year, $9.1 million contract. He became best known for throwing a 19-yard touchdown pass on a fake field goal in the NFC Championship Game. With the Seahawks down 16–0 in the third quarter, Pete Carroll dialed up the fake, and Ryan delivered a strike that helped get Seattle back into a game they would eventually win. He found himself in the news for the wrong reasons, though, thanks to his former team’s cigar antics. In terms of greatest Green Bay Packers from Canada, Ryan was a worthy contributor in Wisconsin.
Colin Cole
Without question, the most successful long-term Packer to ever come from Canada, Cole made his way into the NFL as an undrafted free agent. He spent his first season splitting time between the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings practice squad before eventually signing to the Packers active roster. He played in just three games in 2004 before playing in 31 of Green Bay’s next 32 games. The defensive tackle became a solid rotational player for the Packers but started just eight games.
In his five seasons, Cole logged 5.5 sacks and 262 combined tackles, including 19 tackles for loss. As a 29-year-old, Cole became an unrestricted free agent and signed a five-year, $21.4 million contract with Seattle. Across the next four seasons, splitting time with the Seahawks and Carolina Panthers, Cole started 49 games. He’s easily the best of the Green Bay Packers from Canada.
Tony Mandarich
Yes, this is supposed to be a list of the greatest Green Bay Packers from Canada. And yes, Tony Mandarich might be known as the biggest draft bust in NFL history. However, Mandarich is still arguably the most remarkable football talent to come from Canada, even if he struggled in the NFL. Born in Ontario, Mandarich grew up in Oakville but moved to Theodore Roosevelt High School in Kent after his older brother became a scholarship football player at Kent State. He became a First-Team All-American and a two-time Big Ten Lineman of the Year. But that was just the start.
Before NFL Scouting Combine performances became a cultural phenomenon, Mandarich was the first prospect to dominate the scouting process thanks to his measurables. He had elite size at 6’6″ and 330 pounds, put in 39 reps on the bench press, and ran an astounding 4.65 40-yard dash. He was considered one of the best draft prospects of all time and would have been the top overall pick in many drafts, but declared the same season as Troy Aikman. The left tackle had to settle for the 2nd overall pick, one slot ahead of Barry Sanders, and landed in Green Bay.
Packers fans know all too well what happened next. Mandarich never reached the expectations set for him and was hard to coach. He performed poorly his first three seasons before being cut with a year left on his deal. He later admitted to steroid use and is known as one of the biggest busts ever, not just because of his poor play but because Sanders, Derrick Thomas, and Deion Sanders were all drafted after him. Still, to this day, though he was from from the top Green Bay Packers from Canada, we may never see a better Canadian draft profile.
Which Canadian Players Are Next?
The NFL is growing internationally, including in Canada. There are currently 30 Canadian players in the NFL, and that number is likely to continue growing. The CFL is a great place to look for those players, but as the sport continues to grow, fans can expect to see more Canadians get drafted in the future.