Andy Fantuz is one of a few CFL players to soon find out if his NFL shot was all for naught.
In the next few days, some Canadian Football League players trying out with National Football League teams will find out whether they are sticking around for the start of the season or receiving their release.
It will be watched and anticipated by CFL teams knowing how much of an impact the return of a player can mean.
Perhaps no player will be watched more closely than Saskatchewan receiver Andy Fantuz, who exercised the option-year clause in his contract to sign a free-agent deal with the Chicago Bears. After next season, any CFL player who is entering his option year will be obligated to fulfill it unless he's given his release.
The NFL option window has allowed many CFL players to try the NFL, but for the vast majority of them it didn't yield a roster spot after the final cuts. What made some players valuable in the CFL didn't necessarily translate to NFL success, vast proof of the differences in the two games, which are separate in so many ways, be it the size of the field or the time between plays, to name a couple things.
Any CFL player good enough to crack an NFL roster spot and start has to be an exceptional athlete because of those differences. Some have made the adjustment quite well, none more so than Miami Dolphins' rush end Cameron Wake, who dominated the CFL in two years with the B.C. Lions and became a force in the NFL.
The Dolphins gave Wake a $1 million signing bonus, which indicated their degree of intent. NFL teams don't like to give away that type of up-front money unless they are serious about the player.
CFL players want to go to the NFL purely because of the money and the prestige. It is not in any way a slap in the face to the CFL, but more about chasing a dream and the potential to earn more. Careers are short, so any CFL player who thinks he is good enough and receives a contract from the NFL will take the chance, although a contract alone doesn't guarantee a final roster spot.
Fantuz led the CFL in receiving yards last year and was voted the top Canadian and drew the interest of some NFL teams. He signed with the Bears for a reported $5,000, which is better than some other CFL players who didn't receive anything for signing with NFL teams. Again, some players will sacrifice their CFL contract to sign with an NFL team for no money because it's better than no contract at all.
The Bears close out their pre-season schedule Thursday night at home against Cleveland. By all accounts, Fantuz has not done anything of statistical consequence and isn't even listed on the Bears' depth chart for receivers.
But the Bears kept him around anyway.
The fact NFL teams were allowed to bring 10 extra players to training camp this year due the lockout and still have bloated rosters may have helped Fantuz and other CFL players who signed off-season NFL contracts. But without the benefit of the compulsory off-season mini training camps to acclimate players with the playbook and potentially a new coaching staff, CFL players were at a distinct disadvantage.
In addition, newcomers wouldn't have the benefit of working in structured workouts supervised by the team. Those things didn't help a player such as Fantuz, who went into training camp cold and had to rely purely on his ability and his mental makeup.
As talented as Fantuz is, he plays a style that is radically different from NFL receivers, who are not allowed to motion vertically to the line. Fantuz does this as well as any of the elite CFL receivers. And because NFL receivers have to get off the line from a standing start, they have to hit their peak speed in a hurry, and that says nothing of the cornerbacks doing their best to physically jam them at the line. Precise route running and great hands are Fantuz's strength more than speed, certainly in a standing start.
Fantuz's only shot -- and it's extremely slim -- is to do something dramatic on special teams tomorrow night, if given the chance. If a player isn't a projected starter, making an impact on special teams will at least allow for a possible chance to make the roster.
Fantuz had already established himself in the CFL so that he didn't have to play on special teams. He was simply too valuable to the Roughriders to waste running up and down the field on kickoffs and returns.
So barring doing something incredible amazing on special teams, Fantuz will be back in the CFL. He was merely chasing a dream similar to many CFL players before him, some of whom made it in the NFL but the vast majority of them didn't.
Some didn't play with the same energy, enthusiasm and talent when playing with their CFL teams upon their return from the NFL. For some it was simply the emotional letdown, while for others they put on too much weight and it affected their ability.
Chasing a dream can be hard.
