ELF: Cologne Centurions have signed Germany’s Grey Cup winning DE Thiadric Hansen

| American Football | 05/12/2021

The Cologne Centurions of the European League of Football continue to add impressive names to their roster with the signing of Grey Cup and Polish championship winning defensive end Thiadric Hansen from Germany.

Hansen had re-signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League after an outstanding 2020 season with the Wroclaw Panthers in the Poland’s Liga Futbou Amerykanskiego where he played after the 2020 CFL season was cancelled due to COVID-19. With the delay to the start of the CFL season, Hansen will be able to join the Centurions for at least a part of the ELF season which kicks off June 19. However, his contract with the Centurions comes with an opt-out clause for the Canadian Football League.

Centurions General Manager David Drane on signing the dynamic Hansen and his unique contract:

“Thiadric will be playing for us with an opt-out clause for the CFL in his contract. When the Winnipeg Blue Bombers need him to report to camp he will have to leave us, but until then he can help the Centurions win. He is one of Europe’s top players and we are very pleased to have him on board”

The 6’2″, 243 pound 27-year-old Hansen, a native of Flensburg, Germany was the crown jewel of the Canadian Football League Global Initiative. He was selected 2nd overall in the 2019 CFL European Draft after posting outstanding numbers including a 38″ vertical (best among global players and third overall). He converted from linebacker to defensive end with the Bombers and grew into a key part of the defensive line rotation by the end of the season. Hansen suited up in every Bombers game and recorded five tackles, a sack and two forced fumbles in limited playing time. His role increased as the season progressed and he contributed with two memorable plays in the 2019 Grey Cup playoff run – a critical tackle on one of the two goal-line stands in the Western Final win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders and then a colossal hit on a kickoff return in the Grey Cup that levelled two Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Hansen spent the six seasons with the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes in the GFL before signing to play with the Potsdam Royals. From 2012 to 2018, he recorded 527 tackles plus 62 tackles for loss, leading the team in tackles from 2016 to 2018.

Alex is a former NCAA and semi-pro American football player who is now located in London, where he works in digital marketing. His goal in writing for AFI is to stay involved with the game that has given him so much. Alex enjoys covering leagues and