After taking the Canadian Football League by storm, Derel Walker is getting another shot at the NFL.
On Thursday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced that they have agreed to terms with Walker, the former Texas A&M wide receiver who recorded 198 catches for 2,699 yards and 16 touchdowns in two seasons (2015-16) with the Edmonton Eskimos.
The Buccaneers also announced the signing of guard Jarvis Harrison – coincidentally another former Texas A&M standout – to a reserve/futures contract for the 2017 season.
As a senior at A&M in 2013, the 6-1, 188-pound Walker was second only to Mike Evans, his new Tampa Bay teammate, with 818 receiving yards on 51 catches. Evans was selected seventh overall in the subsequent NFL draft while Walker signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans. Walker was released by the Titans at the end of the 2014 preseason.
In 2015, Walker headed to the CFL, landing first on the Eskimos' practice squad. In the first game after being promoted to Edmonton's practice squad, he caught 10 passes for 125 yards against Montreal, followed the next week by an 14-catch, 183-yard outing against Hamilton. He finished his first CFL campaign with 1,110 yards and six touchdowns on 89 receptions.
Last year, Walker finished second in the entire league in receiving to his Eskimos teammate, Adarius Bowman, hauling in 109 passes for 1,589 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Harrison (6-4, 330) first entered the league as a fifth-round draft pick by the New York Jets in 2015. He split his rookie season between the Jets' practice squad and active roster but did not see action in a regular-season game. Harrison went back to training camp with the Jets this past summer but was waived at the end of the preseason.
