Taulia Tagovailoa is putting his NFL aspirations on hold and heading north.
Tagovailoa, a rookie out of Maryland and the younger brother of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, has signed with the Canadian Football League’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats practice squad, the team announced Monday.
The signing comes in the aftermath of Tagovailoa going undrafted this spring. He subsequently had invites to the Seattle Seahawks’ and Arizona Cardinals’ rookie minicamps.
The 24-year-old Tagovailoa began his career at Alabama, his brother’s alma mater, but transferred to Maryland, where he went on to be the Big Ten’s all-time leader in passing yards with 11,256 over a four-year run as the Terrapins starter. He exceeded 3,000 yards in each of his last three seasons and was a second-team All-Big Ten pick as a junior and senior.
Tagovailoa’s 5-foot-10, 200-pound frame is on the smaller side, but if he’s able to make it in the CFL, perhaps he’ll get another shot at a roster spot in the NFL.