Royce Metchie (born September 11, 1996) 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 ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for 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

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

Metchie 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 confe ...

for the

Guelph Gryphons The Guelph Gryphons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of the U Sports(OUA's), and, where applicable, in ...

from 2014 to 2017.

Professional career

Calgary Stampeders

Metchie was drafted by the Stampeders in the third round, 25th overall, in the 2018 CFL Draft and signed with the team on May 14, 2018. He began the 2018 season on the practice roster, but was soon elevated to the active roster and played in his first game on June 28, 2018, against 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). Starting ...

. He dressed in seven regular season games in his rookie season and recorded five special teams tackles. He was on the practice roster during the playoffs when he shared in the Stampeders' 106th Grey Cup victory. Following the off-season departure of starting

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

Tunde Adeleke and the retirement of Adam Berger, Metchie became the Stampeders' starting safety for the 2019 season. He recorded his first career CFL interception during the

Labour Day Classic The Labour Day Classic (french: Classique de la fête du travail, branded as OK Tire Labour Day Weekend for sponsorship reasons) is a week of the Canadian Football League (CFL) schedule played over the Labour Day weekend (which includes the firs ...

on September 2, 2019, against the Edmonton Eskimos. He played and started in 17 regular season games for the team in 2019 where he had 48 defensive tackles, seven special teams tackles, and three interceptions. He signed a contract extension with the Stampeders on January 18, 2021. He played in seven games in 2021 where he had 31 defensive tackles, one interception, and one forced fumble.

Toronto Argonauts

On February 4, 2022, Metchie was traded to the

in exchange for

Cameron Judge Cameron Judge (born November 29, 1994) is a Canadian football linebacker for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). After being selected second overall in the 2017 CFL Draft by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, he played three ...

as both players had contracts expiring the following week. He played in 17 regular season games where he had 72 defensive tackles and two interceptions. He also played in both post-season games, including the 109th Grey Cup, where he recorded three defensive tackles as he won his second Grey Cup championship in the victory over 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 ...

. On February 3, 2023, it was announced that Metchie had signed a two-year contract extension with the Argonauts.

Personal life

Metchie was born in Nigeria to a Nigerian father and Taiwanese mother, and spent some time in his youth in Ghana and Taiwan before spending his childhood in

Brampton, Ontario Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it th ...

, Canada. Metchie's younger brother,

John Metchie III John Metchie III (born July 18, 2000) is a Canadian gridiron football wide receiver for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, winning the Jon Cornish Trophy twice prior to being draf ...

, is a wide receiver who played college football for

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

and was drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans.

References

External links

Toronto Argonauts bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metchie, Royce 1996 births Living people Calgary Stampeders players Canadian football defensive backs Canadian people of Nigerian descent Canadian people of Taiwanese descent Guelph Gryphons football players Nigerian players of Canadian football Nigerian emigrants to Canada Sportspeople from Brampton Players of Canadian football from Ontario Toronto Argonauts players