Arthur Ward/CFL.ca
REGINA — Linebacker Larry Dean is calling it a career after eight incredible seasons of CFL football, it was announced on Thursday.
The Roughriders also announced on Thursday that Dean’s next career stop keeps him in Green and White where he begins a new chapter as the Roughriders’ Player Personnel Coordinator in Football Operations.
The Champ, as he’s known to many around him, retires 25th all-time in CFL defensive tackles, a four-time Division All-Star (2017, 2018, 2019, 2023), with three 100+ tackle seasons (2018, 2022, 2023), and as the East Division’s nominee for Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2018, among many other accomplishments. All told, Dean played 108 regular season CFL games, registering 570 career tackles, 15 special teams tackles, 11 sacks, seven interceptions and eight forced fumbles.
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Dean’s professional football career began in 2011 when he signed with the Minnesota Vikings and became the only undrafted free agent to make the roster. He went on to play three seasons for the Vikings, suiting up for all 48 regular season games and one playoff appearance. He also spent one season for the Buffalo Bills, playing in 14 games and recording seven tackles in 2014.
His impressive CFL career began in 2016 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, his home for four seasons (2016-2018, 2020). It was there he made a name for himself in the Canadian game, registering 279 defensive tackles, five special teams tackles, five sacks, three interceptions and five forced fumbles. He was a two-time divisional all-star, and after his first season hitting more than 100 tackles (105 in 2018) he was named the East Division’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player.
From there, Dean moved West and spent his third All-Star season with the Edmonton Elks, tallying 86 defensive tackles and one sack in 2019.
Dean joined the Saskatchewan Roughriders during free agency in 2021. He tore his Achilles during the preseason, and while he missed the entire season on the field, off the field he attacked his rehab with his signature hard work and tenacity and he remained in Saskatchewan throughout the season to support his teammates and to rehabilitate his injury. A testament to how he tackled his rehab, Dean returned to the field in 2022 as if no time had passed. He posted 101 tackles (his second 100+ tackle season) and added three sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles.
The 35-year-old capped his career off with one more 100+ tackle season and West Division All-Star nod in 2023, while adding two sacks, two interceptions and one forced fumble. He was the Roughriders nominee for Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player.
Dean has also been recognized for his football prowess closer to home with inductions into the Tift County Blue Devils Hall of Fame in 2018 and the Valdosta State University Blazers Hall of Fame in 2019.
Alongside his talent as a football player, Dean is also an outstanding person who gives back to his community of Tifton, Georgia through his charity, the Larry Dean Foundation Inc., which is committed to giving back to his hometown and to investing in and empowering the young people who live there. As a testament to his leadership and commitment to his community, signs entering Tifton proudly read “Home of Larry Dean.”
