Tag Archives: edmonton eskimos

CFL, NFL

Zabransky, Jared

Card: Playoff Contenders 2007
Acquired: 2016, EBay

Jared Zabransky was a dual threat quarterback for Boise State, and helped bring the program national respect with their thrilling victory over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.  Over 4 years, Zabransky was 610/980 for 8256 yards, 58 TDs to 37 interceptions. He also contributed 863 yards and 31 TDs on the ground.

Scouts didn’t really think that Zabransky was going to fit in the NFL as a quarterback. In fact his situation graded out similar to Eric Crouch. Sure he was a talented athlete, but Jared’s arm strength and passing mechanics concerned teams. Certainly however Zabransky made up for it in intangibles: Leadership and always finding a way to win. He went unselected in the 2007 NFL draft.  Afterwards he signed with the Houston Texans, briefly appearing on their practice squad. He’d join the Steelers in 2008 but be cut before the regular season.

Jared wanted to keep playing QB so he went to the CFL, signing with the Edmonton Eskimos, seeing primarily backup and mopup duty over his career from 2009-2011. His best game came perhaps in 2010 for the Esks when Jared passed for 188 yards on 16 of 23 and 2 touchdowns.

As of 2016 he resides in The Woodlands, Texas, and is the director of sales of oil and gas for an OEM of oil drilling equipment.

I remember when the Texans signed Jared. The team had just jettisoned David Carr and handed the keys over to Matt Schaub. Sage Rosenfels had the inside track for second string QB, while Zabransky looked to nab the Practice Squad QB or the 3rd string spot. The Texans in the end elected not to carry 3 QBs however, and Zabransky was disappointingly cut.

CFL, NFL

Howard, Marcus

Card: Sage 2008
Acquired: 2016, Target Autographed Memorabilia

Marcus Howard played at Georgia as a linebacker and defensive end. The tweener had his best year as a Senior, with 10.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 41 tackles. He saved his best game for last, earning Sugar Bowl MVP Honors in 2008, with 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble that he scored on, during the Bulldogs 41-10 thrashing of the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

Howard was drafted in the 5th round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. He played in 9 games and finished his rookie year with 14 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble.  With a new head coach in Jim Caldwell for 2009, the team decided to go in another direction with the defense. Marcus was cut but found a home with the Tennessee Titans in 2010- a team he spent the season on an off the roster for.

In 2011, Marcus signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL where he finally was able to see significant playing time on the field. During his rookie season in the league he posted 11 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.  He played for the Eskimos through 2017 and has 36 career sacks and 5 forced fumbles.

CFL, NFL

Peters, Garry

Card: Sage Hit 2015
Acquired: 2015, Box Breaker

Garry Peters went unselected in the 2015 draft, and you have to wonder- why? Peters was considered one of the nation’s elite cornerbacks after a solid 2014 campaign. Over a two year period he only allowed 233 receiving yards and didn’t allow a single TD pass thrown his direction in 58 targets. Pretty impressive numbers for the Clemson alum. Well apparently the knock on Peters was his physical style at the line of scrimmage wasn’t going to fly at the NFL level. His 40 time at the combine was considered pedestrian at 4.61, but he also stood out by going up daily against the likes of first round talent Sammy Watkins and D’Andre Hopkins in practice at Clemson.

The Panthers love big bodied corners and signed Peters to a free agent contract. He turned heads in minicamp but was cut on the eve of the first day of practice due to a hamstring injury. Peters agent kept him very busy making a tour of the AFC East. He received tryouts with the Bills, Patriots, and Dolphins but didn’t get a bite.
He gave the CFL a shot in 2016 and landed on the roster of the Edmonton Eskimos.  Garry had 24 tackles and 5 special teams stops in 11 games in his rookie campaign.  As of 2017 he continues to play for the Eskimos.