Former National Football League quarterback Devlin Hodges of Kimberly, Alabama has left the NFL to play in the Canadian Football League according to the Canadian Press on Thursday. Hodges, who played eight games with the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2019 NFL season, has signed a three-year contract with the Ottawa Redblacks.
Hodges saw playing time in 2019 when Steelers starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger injured his elbow against the Seattle Seahawks in week two. Roethlisberger ended up missing the remainder of the season, and subsequently Hodges shared quarterback time with Mason Rudolph of Rock Hill, South Carolina. Rudolph also has a Canadian connection as he is currently dating 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard of Montreal, Quebec.
In eight games with the Steelers in 2019, Hodges completed 100 of 160 pass attempts for 1063 yards. He had five touchdowns and eight interceptions. Hodges also had 21 rushes for 68 yards. In 2020, Hodges was on the Steelers practice roster, and then signed with the Los Angeles Rams for the 2021 NFL season, but was waived before the season started.
Nicknamed “Duck”, Hodges played his college football at Samford University in his home state of Alabama. He joins a Redblacks squad that has struggled in the first five weeks of the CFL season. Ottawa is in last place in the East Division with a record of one win and four losses. Dominique Davis of Lakeland, Florida has been Ottawa’s quarterback to start the year, and even though he passed for 333 yards last week, the Redblacks still lost 45-13 to the British Columbia Lions. Ottawa has a week six bye, and do not play until September 22 when they host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
