THE CANADIAN PRESS
Eric Crouch isn’t finished with professional football just yet.
The former Toronto Argonauts quarterback, who was released by the CFL club last season, was selected third overall Saturday in the All American Football League draft by the upstart circuit’s Texas entry.
The AAFL is slated to begin its inaugural season later this spring. It will attempt to fill the void created by the NFL’s decision earlier this year to pull the plug on NFL Europe after it reportedly lost US$30 million a year over its 16-season existence.
Crouch signed with the new league Sept. 25 but didn’t learn which team he’d play for until Saturday’s draft.
The AAFL will operate with teams in Detroit; Little Rock, Ark; Gainesville, Fla.; Birmingham, Ala.; Knoxville, Tenn.; and a yet-to-be-determined city in Texas.
The league will play a 10-game regular season starting April 12. Teams will be able to keep 46 players on their active rosters with salaries to range between US$50,000 and $100,000.
Crouch captured the 2001 Heisman Trophy at Nebraska but has struggled to show he can play quarterback in the professional ranks. He attempted to play receiver with the St. Louis Rams and Green Bay Packers, then tried out as a defensive back with the Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs assigned Crouch to the Hamburg Sea Devils of NFL Europe, where he played safety. He recorded 25 tackles and two pass knockdowns as the Sea Devils posted a 5-5 record.
After being released by the Chiefs, Crouch signed with Toronto in 2006 and was the club’s No. 3 quarterback behind veterans Damon Allen and Michael Bishop. However, he battled injuries with the Argos, missing half of the ’06 season with a shoulder ailment.
In 2007, Crouch was expected to battle Bishop, Allen, Mike McMahon and Tom Arth for the Argos’ No. 1 job. However, he opened the season on the nine-game disabled list. When he cam off it, he was released by Toronto on Sept. 6.
He will get another chance to play quarterback in the AAFL.
Kliff Kingsbury, a former CFL quarterback with Montreal and Winnipeg, will also play in Texas while Ron Calcagni, a former CFL quarterback with the Ottawa Rough Riders, will coach the AAFL’s Arkansas entry. Calcagni played his college football at Arkansas.
