Christopher Edwards (born December 23, 1992) is a retired 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 ...

, who most recently played for 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 ...

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).

College career

Edwards first played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the Grand Rapids Raiders in 2011 where the team finished with an 11–0 record. After Grand Rapids cancelled their football program, he transferred to Butte College in 2012 where the team finished 12–0. He then transferred again to play for the Idaho Vandals where he completed his junior and senior years in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

After going undrafted in the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

, Edwards signed with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

on May 16, 2016. However, he was released at the end of training camp on August 29, 2016.

Edmonton Eskimos

After sitting out the 2016 season, Edwards signed with 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 ...

on January 30, 2017. He made his regular season debut on June 24, 2021 against the BC Lions. He played in 17 games where he had 14 defensive tackles, four special teams tackles, and one interception. He returned his lone interception for a 73-yard touchdown after picking off 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 ...

Drew Willy Drew Willy (born November 13, 1986) is a former American professional Canadian football quarterback. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Buffalo. Willy has also been a member o ...

on October 9, 2017 in the Thanksgiving Day Classic. In his second season with the Eskimos, Edwards played in all 18 regular season games where he had 46 defensive tackles, four special teams tackles, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles. He became a free agent on February 12, 2019.

BC Lions

On the first day of CFL free agency, on February 12, 2019, Edwards signed with the BC Lions to a one-year contract. He played in 18 regular season games with the Lions and recorded 50 defensive tackles, one interception, and two forced fumbles. He also recorded his first career sack on July 6, 2019, when he tackled

McLeod Bethel-Thompson McLeod John Baltazar Bethel-Thompson (born July 3, 1988) is an American professional football quarterback for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at UCLA and Sacramento State. He is the grands ...

of 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 ...

. In the offseason, he was granted an early release on January 7, 2020, to pursue

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

interests.

San Francisco 49ers

On January 9, 2020, Edwards signed with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. He was promoted to the active roster for the November 29, 2020 game against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

. He was released during the following off-season on May 4, 2021.

Toronto Argonauts

On June 2, 2021, it was announced that Edwards had signed with the

. In his fourth year in the league, Edwards played in all 14 regular season games for the Argos, contributing with 37 defensive tackles, one special teams tackle, three sacks, three interceptions, and two touchdowns. He was named a CFL All-Star for the first time in his career. Edwards was suspended by the Canadian Football League for six games in the 2022 season following a fan altercation after the Argos were eliminated from the playoffs by the

. In early July 2022 the CFL and CFLPA announced that Edwards' suspension had been reduced from six games to three games.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

On February 17, 2023, Edwards signed with the

. On February 12, 2024, he announced that he had retired from professional football.

References

External links

Toronto Argonauts bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Chris 1992 births Living people American football defensive backs BC Lions players Butte Roadrunners football players Canadian football defensive backs Edmonton Elks players Grand Rapids Raiders football players Idaho Vandals football players Las Vegas Raiders players Players of American football from Detroit San Francisco 49ers players Toronto Argonauts players Players of Canadian football from Detroit