Mario Alford (born February 25, 1992) is an American

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

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 ...

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 college football at

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

Alford was drafted by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

in the seventh round, 238th overall, in the

2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...

. He played in one game his rookie year with the Bengals registering one catch for 15 yards. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Bengals.

New York Jets

On November 16, 2016, Alford was signed to the Jets' practice squad. He was released by the team on December 6, 2016.

Cleveland Browns

Alford was signed to the Browns' practice squad on December 13, 2016. He was promoted to the active roster on December 17, 2016. On September 1, 2017, Alford was waived by the Browns during roster cutdowns.

Chicago Bears

On September 12, 2017, Alford was signed to the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

' practice squad.

Toronto Argonauts

On June 3, 2018, Alford 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 ...

of the

. In his lone season in Toronto, Alford appeared in six games and caught seven passes for 57 yards, returned eight kick-offs for 170 yards, had five punt returns for seven yards, and rushed the ball once for 10 yards. He was released on May 25, 2019.

Montreal Alouettes

On September 24, 2019, it was announced that Alford had signed with 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 ...

. He was signed for the 2021 season on December 15, 2020. Over parts of three seasons, Alford played in nine games with the Alouettes where he had 24 kickoff returns for 477 yards, 26 punt returns for 486 yards and three touchdowns, and two missed field goal returns for 45 yards.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On July 3, 2022, Alford was traded to the

in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2023 CFL Draft. He played in 13 regular season games for the team where he had 38 kickoff returns for 990 yards and two touchdowns, 44 punt returns for 530 yards and one touchdown, and three missed field goal returns for 129 yards and one touchdown. For his strong season, he was named the

CFL's Most Outstanding Special Teams Player The John Agro Special Teams Award is presented to the CFL's Most Outstanding Special Teams player that is voted by his peers. The award is named in honour of John Agro, co-founder (in 1965) of the Canadian Football League Players' Association, with ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

References

External links

Saskatchewan Roughriders bioWest Virginia Moutaineers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alford, Mario 1992 births Living people People from Greenville, Georgia Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) African-American players of American football American football wide receivers West Virginia Mountaineers football players Cincinnati Bengals players New York Jets players Cleveland Browns players Chicago Bears players African-American players of Canadian football Canadian football wide receivers Toronto Argonauts players Montreal Alouettes players 21st-century African-American sportspeople Saskatchewan Roughriders players