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Last Updated: Feb 24, 2025
The NFL is the biggest sport in the United States, and although its best players are usually Americans, Canadians have made their presence felt in the 100 years of competitive action.
We’ve run the rule over the best Canucks to suit up in an NFL game to come up with our top five.
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5. Nate Burleson
Burleson had a very solid NFL career and is perhaps the best wide receiver to emerge from Canada. However, he is more renowned for his broadcasting career as a host and commentator on CBS and NFL Network.
Burleson played for three teams over 10 years, collating 5,630 receiving yards and 2,809 return yards with 43 total touchdowns. He was a reliable foil for almost every quarterback he played alongside.
Although he made seven post-season appearances, Burleson never recorded a Super Bowl appearance.
4. Eddie Murray
Canada has had a canny knack for producing excellent NFL kickers, but Murray is the best of the lot, with a Super Bowl win to his name.
The Detroit Lions drafted Murray in 1980, and he enjoyed a 20-year stint in the NFL with seven teams, including two spells with the Cowboys, where he won the Lombardi Trophy in the 1993 campaign.
Murray was named a first-team All-Pro as a rookie, and would go on to earn three second-team All-Pro berths during his career along with two Pro Bowl appearances.
Murray also led the NFL in scoring in 1981 and showed his composure in Super Bowl XXVIII, with three successful kicks in the Cowboys’ triumph over the Bills, earning a Super Bowl ring.
3. Arnie Weinmeister
Weinmeister is one of two Canucks to have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He played in both the All-American Football Conference for the New York Yankees and the NFL for four seasons for the New York Giants.
The defensive tackle was a dominant force on the line for the Giants. He was named an All-Pro and Pro Bowl player in all four of his NFL seasons. His performances earned the respect of the great Tom Landy, who played alongside Weinmeister with the Giants.
The legendary Dallas Cowboys head coach lobbied hard for his former team-mate to be elected to the Hall of Fame, which he finally achieved in 1984.
2. Bronko Nagurski
Nagurski is arguably the greatest Canadian NFL player of all time; certainly, no player has accomplished more emerging from north of the border.
The Chicago Bears retired his no.3 jersey, such was the quality of his performances playing in three positions for the franchise between 1930 and 1937 and for one final act in 1943.
He was named to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, as well as being a three-time NFL champion with Chicago and a four-time All-Pro.
Nagurski left a telling impact on the game, although his accomplishments pre-date the Super Bowl era. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963, and his achievements live on forever in Bears folklore.
1. Mark Rypien
Other Canadians may have enjoyed greater longevity than Rypien, but no one scaled the heights the quarterback produced in the 1991 season, considering his role in Washington’s success.
Rypien inherited the starting QB position from the great Doug Williams in Washington, and made a decisive impact in steering the franchise to its third Super Bowl title.
Joe Gibbs’ side finished with a 14-2 record in the 1991 campaign, with Rypien throwing for 3,564 yards, 28 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions.
He was named Offensive Player of the Year, but lost out to Buffalo Bills’ running back Thurman Thomas in the MVP race.
However, he would have his revenge as Rypien steered his side through to the Super Bowl before putting on a clutch performance to win Super Bowl MVP as Washington eased past the Bills to win their third Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Rypien became the first non-American to win the Pete Rozelle Trophy.
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