Dallas Cowboys add Kosovo-born, Grey Cup winning kicker Lirim Hajrullahu to roster

The Dallas Cowboys are adding Kosovo-born, former Grey Cup winning CFL kicker Lirim Hajrullahu to their roster.

The 31-year-old Hajrullahu will be finally making his NFL debut if regular kicker Greg Zuerlein doesn’t clear COVID-19 protocols before Sunday’s game against Atlanta.

Hajrullahu kicked for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the CFL from 2014-19, making 83% of his field-goal attempts. In 2017, playing for the Toronto Argonauts, he kicked the game winning 32-yard field goal with less than a minute to go in the 105th Grey Cup game to give the Argos a 27-24 victory over the Calgary Stampeders.

He spent the 2019 CFL season with the Tiger-Cats and was released by the team following the season to allow him to become a free agent to pursue NFL opportunities. Hajrullahu had matched his career high of 47 field goals in that season with Hamilton in 2019, when he also had a career-long kick of 56 yards.

The graduate of Western University in Canada was on the Los Angeles Rams roster for the early part of the 2020 season but was released, due according to some reports to politics. He signed with the Carolina Panthers briefly in late 2020 and then in early 2021.

Hajrullahu returned to the Generals for The Spring League’s 2021 season after having played with them the year before. On May 8, he went 5-for-5 in field goals in the first game, including the longest field goal of his career at 59 yards. It was the TSL’s television debut on Fox, and Hajrullahu set a new league record for longest field goal, tied the single-game record for fields goals, and was named the South Division Player of the Week.

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy had said he was hoping Zuerlein would be available against the Atlanta Falcons November 14, but acknowledged it was a long shot. Zuerlein was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list Tuesday.