Eric Mezzalira (born March 10, 1994) is a professional

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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

who is 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 ...

. He was most recently a member of the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

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).

University career

Mezzalira played

U Sports 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 ...

for the

McMaster Marauders The McMaster Marauders are the athletic teams that represent McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Athletics at McMaster is currently managed by the university's student affairs, under their athletics & recreation department. The unive ...

from 2014 to 2017.

Professional career

Calgary Stampeders

Mezzalira was selected to the Ontario Regional Combine where he earned an invitation to the CFL National Combine. He scored the highest result on the Wonderlic at the combine. Mezzalira was drafted in the second round, 17th overall, by 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 ...

in the

2018 CFL Draft The 2018 CFL Draft took place on May 3, 2018, at 8:00 pm ET and was broadcast on TSN and RDS... Sixty-nine players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in ...

and signed with the team on May 14, 2018. He dressed in his first professional game in the team's 2018 season opener on June 16, 2018 against the

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 ...

. In total, he dressed in 14 regular season games in 2018 where he recorded five special teams tackles. Mezzalira also played in both post-season games, including in the

106th Grey Cup The 106th Grey Cup (branded as the 106th Grey Cup presented by Shaw for sponsorship reasons) was the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship game for the 2018 season. It was played on November 25, 2018, between the Ottawa Redblacks and the C ...

where he had one special teams tackle in the victory over the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Startin ...

. His 2019 season was beset by injury as he only played in eight regular season games and one playoff game where he had six special teams tackles and one forced fumble. 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 ...

and he became a

upon the expiration of his rookie contract on February 9, 2021.

Toronto Argonauts

On June 30, 2021, Mezzalira signed with 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 ...

. He spent the entire year on the practice roster and his contract expired on December 6, 2021.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

On April 11, 2022, Mezzalira was signed by the

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 ...

. However, he was released with the final training camp cuts on June 5, 2022.

Montreal Alouettes

On July 31, 2022, it was announced that Mezzalira had signed a practice roster agreement with the

. However, he was recently shortly after on August 5, 2022.

References

External links

Montreal Alouettes bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mezzalira, Eric 1994 births Living people Calgary Stampeders players Canadian football linebackers McMaster Marauders football players Montreal Alouettes players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Canadian football people from Hamilton, Ontario Toronto Argonauts players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players