GLENDALE, Arizona — Austin Collie, the former Colts receiver who was an integral part of the Indianapolis offence during the Peyton Manning regime, will play in the Canadian Football League in 2015.
CFL sources told Sportsnet Tuesday night that the 29-year-old Collie has come to terms with the Montreal Alouettes.
What makes Collie’s signing significant is that because he was born in Hamilton, and spent enough time north of the border, the veteran receiver will be classified as a “national,” thus occupying a Canadian spot on the roster.
Collie, listed at 6’0 and 204 pounds, is a tad bit taller and heavier than the man whose path he’s emulating. Ben Cahoon, like Collie, played his college football at BYU and found a loophole to receive non-import status.
Collie was with the Colts from his breakout NFL rookie season in 2009 — and the Indianapolis trip to the Super Bowl — through the end of the 2012 season. He spent time with San Francisco and New England in 2013 and after a workout with Washington last spring didn’t amount to an offer, Collie began looking for other options.
A CFL source told Sportsnet that Collie was not signed off a negotiation list, rather as a free agent.
Collie was a fourth round pick of the Colts after coming out of BYU following a junior season where he was the college football receiving yards leader in 2008.
