Former Eastern Illinois wide receiver Alexander Hollins has been signed to the practice squad of the BC Lions as the team prepares to open the 2022 Canadian Football League season this weekend.
Hollins caught two passes in the Lions exhibition win last weekend over Saskatchewan before being one of a number of players signed to the Lions practice squad. The team will open the regular season on Saturday against the Edmonton Elks.
Hollins played two seasons at Eastern Illinois earning All-American status in 2018 after catching 79 passes for 1,090 yards and 16 touchdowns. He would finish 21st in voting for the Walter Payton Award.
Hollins signed as a free agent in the NFL and spent two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings including appearing in the NFL playoff game for Minnesota in 2019. He would end the 2020 season with the Cleveland Browns and then spent a good portion of the 2021 season on the Browns practice roster.
Should Hollins play in a regular season game in the CFL, he would become the 14th former EIU player to appear in a regular season game. The last was Andrew Manley with the Montreal Alouettes in 2015. Former EIU fullback Chris Szarka had the longest CFL career of any former Panther spending 14 years with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
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