The U.S.-Canada bilateral relationship is dominating the news for obvious reasons. While our politics and national discourse have been consumed by the topic, the conversation is shifting—with a general election now behind us—to what degree the relationship should deepen or decouple.
I’ll leave it to the experts to debate the ways in which our cultures and economies should or shouldn’t synchronize, but on a lighthearted note, I wrote last summer about the mutual benefits of U.S.-Canada football harmonization for the betterment of the sport on both sides of the 49th parallel.
Nearly a year later, a standout Canadian quarterback has conquered the differences in Canadian and American football to ascend to the top of the sport.
The Green Bay Packers are set to sign Taylor Elgersma following his standout performance at the team’s rookie minicamp earlier this month. Elgersma, a former star at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, had initially planned to attend the Buffalo Bills’ rookie minicamp after receiving invites from over a dozen NFL teams, but chose to remain in Green Bay after impressing the coaching staff.
Elgersma’s collegiate career was marked by exceptional achievements. In his senior year last season, he completed 73.5 percent of his passes for 4,011 yards, 34 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, while also rushing for 223 yards and six touchdowns. His performance led the Laurier Golden Hawks to an 11-1 record and a Vanier Cup appearance—earning the Hec Crighton Trophy as Canada’s top collegiate football player.
It was reported that at least 20 NFL teams reached out to Elgersma following the announcement that he would be taking part in last February’s Senior Bowl, a marquee event showcasing almost exclusively U.S. college players to NFL scouts and coaches.
Despite going undrafted in the 2025 NFL draft, Elgersma’s strong showing at the Senior Bowl and his pre-draft visit with Green Bay kept him on the Packers’ radar. His decision to forgo the Bills’ minicamp in favour of a follow-up interview with Green Bay underscores the mutual interest between player and team.
For what it is worth, no Canadian quarterback has been drafted out of U Sports since the NFL transitioned to a seven-round draft in 1994.
This signing marks a significant step for Elgersma, making him one of the few Canadian quarterbacks to join an NFL roster directly from U Sports. But perhaps more significantly, his journey reflects the growing recognition of Canadian talent in professional football.
Elgersma will join a quarterback room that includes starter Jordan Love, backup Malik Willis, and Sean Clifford. While it’s unlikely he’ll immediately challenge for a top spot on the depth chart, his presence adds competition and depth to the position. It might be uncommon for a U Sports alumnus to step right into an NFL quarterback room, but it’s not uncommon for a dynamic player of his skillset and size—six-foot-five, 225 lbs—to compete in that setting.
I have already editorialized the reasons the Canadian game should more resemble the American game to create a better pipeline for Canadian talent, but in this case, standardization was not necessary for a player of this calibre to get noticed by the pinnacle of the sport. For reference, NFL Media reported that Elgersma only started practicing 11-on-11 football this past year, a departure from the 12-man Canadian game.
Regardless of what happens over the summer and into the fall for Elgersma as he continues the uphill climb to cement his place on Green Bay’s opening week 53-man roster, this will hopefully start a chain of events to reinvigorate U Sports as a destination for Canadian talent with NFL aspirations. And young Canadian football players should keep an eye on well-coached Canadian university programs, like the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks, as an increasingly common stop on the route south to the NFL.
