Aaron Crawford (born September 23, 1986) is a

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point attempt ...

for the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He played

CIS football U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports (formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sport). Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athletic confer ...

at Saint Mary's University and attended Crescent Heights High School in

Medicine Hat, Alberta Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are within ...

. He has also been a member of the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

, and

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

Early years

Crawford played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for the Crescent Heights High School Vikings. He was named rookie of the year in 2003 and team captain in 2004.

College career

Crawford played for the

Saint Mary's Huskies The Saint Mary's Huskies are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their primary home turf is Huskies Stadium located in the centre of the University's campus. In September 2 ...

in 2009 and 2011, appearing in 13 games. He recorded a career total of 55 solo tackles, 3.5 sacks, two fumbles forces and three fumble recoveries.

Professional career

Toronto Argonauts

Crawford was drafted by the

with the 40th pick in the

2012 CFL Draft The 2012 CFL Draft took place on Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET on TSN. 45 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. The Calgary Stampeders ...

. He was released by the Argonauts on June 20, 2012.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Crawford was signed to the

' practice roster on October 3, 2012. He was released by the Roughriders on June 17, 2013.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Crawford was signed to the

' practice roster on July 22, 2013. He was released by the Blue Bombers on August 4, 2013.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Crawford signed with the

on August 21, 2013. He played in his first professional game on August 24, 2013 against the

. He played in a total of four game before being released by the Tiger-Cats on October 12, 2013. He re-signed with the team on September 3, 2014 and played in the team's remaining 10 regular season games that year. He also played in both post-season games, including his first

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

game, which was a loss to the

in the

102nd Grey Cup The 102nd Grey Cup was a Canadian football game played November 30, 2014, between the Canadian Football League West Division, West Division champion Calgary Stampeders and Canadian Football League East Division, East Division champion Hamilton Tig ...

championship. Thereafter, he became the team's regular long snapper in 2015 and onward. On October 27, 2017, he tore his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

and

meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid) The meniscus (plural: ''menisci'', from the Greek for "crescent") is the curve in the upper surface ...

, but still finished the game. He had reconstructive surgery in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

and rehabbed his knee there, instead of heading home to

. He became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2018 and when he was healthy, he re-signed with the Tiger-Cats on July 23, 2018. He played in 13 regular season games and two post-season games in 2018. Crawford was again the team's long snapper for the 2019 season where the team finished with a franchise record 15-3 win–loss ratio as he played in all 18 regular season games. He also played in his second Grey Cup game, but the Tiger-Cats lost to the Blue Bombers in the

107th Grey Cup The 107th Grey Cup decided the champion of the 2019 season in the Canadian Football League (CFL). The match was played on November 24, 2019, between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta. Wi ...

game. He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the s ...

. He entered the 2021 CFL season as a pending free agent and was granted an early release by the Tiger-Cats on February 1, 2021.

Calgary Stampeders

On February 2, 2021, Crawford signed with the

References

External links

Calgary Stampeders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Aaron Living people 1986 births Calgary Stampeders players Canadian football long snappers Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Players of Canadian football from Alberta Saint Mary's Huskies football players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Sportspeople from Medicine Hat Toronto Argonauts players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players