Casey Sayles (born September 4, 1995) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

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 (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

with the

Ohio Bobcats The Ohio Bobcats are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I Intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio University, located in Athens, Ohio, United States. Ohio University is a charter member (1946 ...

Early life

Sayles attended

Omaha North High School Omaha North High Magnet School is a public high school located at 4410 North 36th Street in the city of Omaha, Nebraska. The school is a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) magnet school in the Omaha Public Schools district ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. As a senior, Sayles compiled 36 solo tackles and 40 assists, with 19 tackles for loss for 71 yards, including 4 1/2 sacks. He also registered four pass breakups, and while playing tight end, he caught nine passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns. He helped Omaha North reach the Class A championship game and was named to the All-Nebraska team. Sayles signed with the

out of high school.

College career

Sayles played

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

for the

from 2013 to 2016. In 2013, he also played

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

and returned 4 kicks for a total of 30 yards. In 2014, he played in only seven games. In his senior season in 2016, Sayles has 33 tackles and six sacks, earning Second-team All-

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

honors. He finished his four year college career with 111 total tackles and 12.5 sacks and three fumble recoveries in 50 games.

Statistics

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

On May 3, 2017, Sayles was signed by the

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

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

. He was released by the team on September 3, 2017.

Pittsburgh Steelers (first stint)

On January 18, 2018, the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

signed Sayles to a Reserve/Future contract. He had four tackles in four preseason games. On September 1, 2018, he was waived.

Birmingham Iron

In 2019, Sayles played for the Birmingham Iron of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

(AAF). According to Pro Football Focus, he was one of the best defensive lineman in the league on a per-snap basis. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

Pittsburgh Steelers (second stint)

On April 9, 2019, the Steelers signed Sayles to a one-year contract. On August 30, 2019, he was released.

St. Louis BattleHawks

In October 2019, Sayles was drafted by the St. Louis BattleHawks via the 2020 XFL Draft. He was picked up in the first round of Phase 3: Defensive Front Seven. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Sayles signed with 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 (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

of the CFL on April 5, 2021. He played for two seasons with the Blue Bombers where he won a

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () 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 between the winners ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 14, 2023.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

On February 15, 2023, it was announced that Sayles had signed with the

. On November 8, 2023, Sayles was named a CFL All-Star, after leading the team in quarterback sacks and tackles for loss.

References

External links

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archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sayles, Casey 1995 births Living people American football defensive tackles Ohio Bobcats football players Los Angeles Rams players Pittsburgh Steelers players Birmingham Iron players St. Louis Battlehawks players Omaha North High School alumni Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Canadian football defensive linemen Players of American football from Nebraska Players of Canadian football from Nebraska