Mike Benson (born May 13, 1987) 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 for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 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 ...

for the Acadia Axemen and attended St. Paul's High School in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. He has also been a member of the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

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 ...

, BC Lions,

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 ...

, and

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 ...

Professional career

Edmonton Eskimos

Benson was signed by the

on June 11, 2012. He was released by the Eskimos on June 17, 2012. He signed with the Eskimos on October 18, 2012.

Toronto Argonauts

Benson signed with the

on June 1, 2014. He was released by the Argonauts on June 22, 2014.

BC Lions

Benson was signed by the BC Lions on August 31, 2014. During his fourth year as the Lions' long snapper, Benson recovered a muffed punt that he had snapped and which Edmonton wideout

Brandon Zylstra Brandon Zylstra (born March 25, 1993) is a professional American football wide receiver and return specialist who is a free agent. He played college football at Concordia–Moorhead. After going undrafted in 2016, Zylstra signed with the Edmont ...

failed to secure. Benson returned the ball for a touchdown against his former team. Benson received a one-year contract extension to remain with the Lions on January 11, 2018. He played in all 18 games in 2018, but was released from BC during the following off-season on May 1, 2019. During six years in the CFL and 84 games played, Benson had accumulated 16 tackles on special teams.

Ottawa Redblacks

Benson signed with the

to a practice roster agreement on July 22, 2019. Benson was called up when Ottawa's regular long snapper Louis-Philippe Bourassa was suspended for two games. Benson also played the final three games of the season for Ottawa. He was released by the Redblacks on January 23, 2020.

Montreal Alouettes

On January 27, 2020, it was announced that Benson had signed a one-year contract with the

. However, 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 ...

was cancelled and he did not play for the Alouettes.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Upon entering free agency, Benson signed with his hometown Winnipeg Blue Bombers on February 9, 2021. He played in all 14 regular season games and both post-season games in 2021 as he finished the season as a

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 ...

champion following the Blue Bombers' victory over 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 the

108th Grey Cup The 108th Grey Cup decided the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship for the 2021 season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was cancelled and the start of the 2021 season was delayed, pushing the game to December 12, 2021. The ...

game.

References

External links

Winnipeg Blue Bombers bioJust Sports StatsBC Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Mike Living people 1987 births Acadia Axemen football players BC Lions players Canadian football long snappers Canadian Junior Football League players Edmonton Elks players Montreal Alouettes players Ottawa Redblacks players Players of Canadian football from Manitoba Canadian football people from Winnipeg Winnipeg Blue Bombers players