UPDATE: The Top 3 Canadian Green Bay Packers

There aren’t many Canadian Green Bay Packers. Outside of North America, the National Football League is still one of the fastest-growing sports. Despite being one of the least diverse leagues in American professional sports, the NFL is expanding quickly abroad as a result of the league playing an increasing number of games outside of the country. Merely 3% of NFL players were non-American citizens as of 2017. In contrast, the National Basketball Association has somewhat fewer players—21 percent—and Major League Baseball, where nearly 28 percent of players were born abroad.

Even now, the NFL is a distinctly American sport. However, there are becoming more overseas competitors. One country where the number of NFL players in the league is still rising is Canada. Let’s examine a few of the top Canadian NFL players that have represented Green Bay.

In Canada, football
Prior to delving into the list, it is vital to comprehend the Canadian football landscape. Canada is one of the few nations with a thriving professional football league. Perhaps the best professional football league outside the NFL in the world is the Canadian Football League. The fact that teams are prohibited from fielding more than 20 Americans in an effort to increase Canadian participation in the sport is one of the reasons it is so well-liked.

The CFL was established in 1958 and currently consists of nine clubs. Notable players who have participated in the league include Doug Flutie and Warren Moon. The CFL is a popular football betting league in Canada and is frequently the cradle of underappreciated players hoping to make it big in the NFL. First up is a former CFL player; here are a couple other Canadian athletes. Some Canadian teams, like the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats, may surprise you by being older than any US team—they have been around since the 1860s. The Grey Cup, the CFL’s version of the Super Bowl, was bestowed as the league’s trophy by Governor General Lord Earl Grey in 1909, making it far older than its American counterpart.

Canadian Green Bay Packers
Ryan Jon
Longtime punter Jon Ryan began his career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, but he is most recognized for his tenure with the Seattle Seahawks. Ryan, who was born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, attended the University of Regina where he played wide receiver and punter before being chosen for both positions in the third round of the 2004 Canadian College Draft. He played for two seasons in Winnipeg, where he led the league in punting average (50.6), which opened up an NFL roster spot for him.

He became the third native of Saskatchewan to play in the NFL when he inked a three-year, $965,000 contract with the Packers in 2006. However, Ryan was waived by Green Bay during his second season. He clicked with the Seahawks after the first week of the 2008 campaign, agreeing to a two-year, $980,000 deal. Following two successful seasons, he inked a $9.1 million, six-year contract. His most famous play in the NFC Championship Game was a 19-yard touchdown pass that he made on a fake field goal. Pete Carroll perfected the fake in the third quarter with the Seahawks trailing 16–0, and Ryan hit a touchdown to help pull Seattle into a game they would eventually win. However, he was in the news for all the wrong reasons.
however, because of the cigar-chewing antics of his old crew. Ryan was a valuable member of Wisconsin’s Green Bay Packers, one of the best Canadian teams in sports history.

Colleague Colin
Undoubtedly, the most prosperous Canadian-born Packer player in history, Cole entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent. Before joining the Packers’ active roster, he split his rookie season between the practice squads of the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings. Before participating in 31 of Green Bay’s subsequent 32 games, he only appeared in three games in 2004. Although he only started eight games, the defensive tackle developed into a reliable rotational player for the Packers.

Cole recorded 262 total tackles in his five seasons, including 19 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks. Cole, at 29 years old, signed a five-year, $21.4 million deal with Seattle as an unrestricted free agent. Cole started 49 games over the course of the following four seasons while alternating between the Seahawks and Carolina Panthers. He is without a doubt the best of the Canadian Green Bay Packers.

Tony Mandarich
Yes, this is meant to be a list of the best Canadian Green Bay Packers. Indeed, Tony Mandarich could be regarded as the NFL’s largest draft flop ever. Even though Mandarich had difficulties in the NFL, he is still likely the most exceptional football player to come out of Canada. Originally from Ontario, Mandarich attended Oakville High School before relocating to Kent to attend Theodore Roosevelt High School, where his elder brother was accepted as a scholarship football player to Kent State. He went on to win two Big Ten Lineman of the Year awards and was named a First-Team All-American. But that was only the beginning.

Mandarich’s measurables allowed him to be the first prospect to dominate the evaluation process before NFL evaluation Combine performances became a cultural phenomenon. At 6’6″ and 330 pounds, he was an excellent athlete who could bench press 39 times and run an incredible 4.65 seconds in the 40-yard sprint. Though he declared the same season as Troy Aikman, he was regarded as one of the greatest draft prospects of all time and would have been the first overall pick in many drafts. Left tackle Barry Sanders was selected one spot ahead of him with the second overall choice, which he had to settle for and land in Green Bay.

Fans of the Packers are well aware of what transpired next. Mandarich was difficult to coach and never lived up to the expectations placed on him. With one season left on his contract, he was cut after three bad seasons. In addition to being regarded as one of the worst failures ever due to his terrible play, he later admitted to using steroids. Sanders, Derrick Thomas, and Deion Sanders were all selected after him in the draft. Even yet, we may never see a greater Canadian draft profile, even though he was a member of the top Canadian Green Bay Packers.

Which Players From Canada Will Come Next?
The NFL is expanding abroad, especially in Canada. As of right now, there are thirty Canadian players in the NFL, and that figure is probably going to rise. Although the CFL is a fantastic place to find those athletes, fans should anticipate seeing more Canadians selected in the future as the sport grows.