Zackary Medeiros (born October 22, 1990) 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 ...

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

and punter who is currently 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 most recently played 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 ...

. He was originally drafted 48th overall by 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 ...

in the

2014 CFL Draft The 2014 CFL Draft took place on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at 7:00 PM ET on TSN. 65 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. A total of 19 trades ...

. He won 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 ...

championship while playing for 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 ...

in the

104th Grey Cup The 104th Grey Cup (branded as the 104th Grey Cup presented by Shaw for sponsorship reasons) was a Canadian football game that was played on November 27, 2016, between the Calgary Stampeders and the Ottawa Redblacks, that decided the champion for ...

game.

College and junior career

Medeiros played for the

Montreal Carabins The Montréal Carabins are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent the Université de Montréal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Teams play at the CEPSUM Stadium and at l'aréna du CEPSUM, located at the Université de Montréal campus. ...

for the 2010 and 2011 seasons before moving back to

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

to play for the

London Beefeaters The London Beefeaters are a Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) team located in London, Ontario. They play in the Ontario Football Conference (OFC) which is part of the CJFL, and compete annually for the national title known as the Canadian Bo ...

of the

Canadian Junior Football League The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Major Junior Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in five provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. Many CJFL players move on to profess ...

. He had a strong season in 2013, which led to him being drafted into the

. After attending training camp with the

, Medeiros transferred to the

Western Mustangs football The Western Mustangs football team (also known as the Western Ontario Mustangs) represents the University of Western Ontario in Canadian university football. The Mustangs compete as a member of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA), under the U Sp ...

program for the 2014 season, making 20 of 25 field goal attempts and punting 42 times for an average of 39.7 yards per punt.

Professional career

Edmonton Eskimos

Medeiros was drafted in the sixth round, 48th overall, by the

in the

. He attended training camp, but chose to go back to play in

Canadian Interuniversity Sport 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 2014 season. He re-signed with the team on May 13, 2015, but was released during training camp on June 15, 2015.

Ottawa Redblacks

Medeiros was signed by the Redblacks on June 27, 2016 to play as the team's punter so Chris Milo could focus on placekicking. He played in 13 regular season games, punting 63 times for an average of 43.7 yards per punt. He was eventually replaced by Ray Early, who was also handling the placekicking duties following an injury to Milo, but Medeiros still had kickoff duties in the East Final and

games, earning his first championship as part of the

winning team. He spent time on the injured list for the

2017 Ottawa Redblacks season The 2017 Ottawa Redblacks season was the fourth season for the team in the Canadian Football League. The Redblacks finished in second place in the East Division with an 8–9–1 record and hosted a playoff game for the third consecutive year. The ...

and was eventually released on August 17, 2017.

Montreal Alouettes

On April 25, 2018, it was announced that Medeiros 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 played in one preseason game on May 31, 2018, missing his only field goal attempt from 37 yards. He was released on June 5, 2018.

Toronto Argonauts

Medeiros was signed by the

on July 30, 2018 following an injury to their incumbent kicker,

Ronnie Pfeffer Ronnie Pfeffer (born June 17, 1992) is a Canadian football placekicker and Punter (football), punter for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent on July 1, 2015 by the Toron ...

. He played three days later, performing all three kicking duties in the Argonauts' win over his former team, the Redblacks. He finished the 2018 season completing 15 field goals on 20 attempts before being replaced as the team's placekicker by Drew Brown in the 15th game of the season. Medeiros continued to be the team's punter for all but one game after he was signed, finishing with 59 punts for a 46.1 yard average and a 34.9 net yard average. Following the 2018 season, he was re-signed by the Argonauts to a two-year contract extension. However, he was released by the Argonauts on June 8, 2019 as part of final training camp cuts. He was then re-signed again on June 25, 2019 to the practice roster. Medeiros played in eight games for the Argonauts in 2019 as both a placekicker and punter. As a pending free agent in 2020, he was released during the free agency negotiation window on February 7, 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medeiros, Zackary Living people Montreal Carabins football players Canadian Junior Football League players Western Mustangs football players Ottawa Redblacks players Canadian football placekickers Canadian football punters 1990 births Players of Canadian football from Ontario People from St. Thomas, Ontario Toronto Argonauts players Canadian people of Portuguese descent