White Rock kicker Sean Whyte is staying with the Edmonton Eskimos for another three seasons, after signing his name to a new contract Friday afternoon.
Whyte – a Surrey Rams junior football alum who began his Canadian Football League career with the BC Lions – played in Edmonton last season on a one-year contract after helping the team to a Grey Cup title in 2015.
This season, the veteran kicker missed significant time due to injury – he played in just six games – but did set a career-best with a 55-yard field goal in Week 2 of the just-completed season. He finished with 29 punts for 958 total yards, was successful on 15-of-16 field-goal attempts and 12-of-14 conversions.
“I’m extremely happy. Since I arrived in 2015, the organization and the people of Edmonton welcomed me with open arms and have made me feel comfortable. Because of that, I’ve been playing the best ball of my career,” Whyte told Peace Arch News, adding that the three-year commitment has prompted him to move to Edmonton, rather than split time between the Alberta capital and White Rock.
In addition to the Lions and Eskimos, the Semiahmoo Secondary grad also spent five seasons with the Montreal Alouettes.
The new multi-year contract extension comes just a few years after the 32-year-old considered hanging up his cleats for good. After being released by the Alouettes in 2015 – he’d been the starting kicker there since 2011 – Whyte told PAN that he was just days away from retiring and starting a new, non-football job when the Esks called and offered him a spot on the team’s practice roster. He took them up on the offer, and soon found himself not only on the active roster, but kicking for the team in that year’s Grey Cup, which Edmonton won.
When Whyte signed his previous one-year deal with Edmonton, he said, “from the top down, it’s a great organization… good-quality people. Everything about it is great.”
