Lirim Hajrullahu


Lirim Hajrullahu is a Canadian gridiron football placekicker for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League. He is a two-time Canadian Football League East Division All-Star and became a Grey Cup champion with the Toronto Argonauts after kicking the game-winning field goal in the 105th Grey Cup game. Hajrullahu played college football at Western Ontario and attended Governor Simcoe Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Early life

Hajrullahu was born in Kosovo and fled to Canada when he was eight years old on a refugee flight to escape war. He started playing football in grade 10 at Governor Simcoe Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Professional career

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Hajrullahu was signed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on January 17, 2014. He was the West Division nominee for the John Agro Special Teams Award in 2014.

Toronto Argonauts

Hajrullahu became a free agent on February 9, 2016 and signed with the Toronto Argonauts that same day.
He became the first player to score points in the first regular-season CFL game at BMO Field on June 23, 2016. Oddly enough, he scored the first CFL points for both a visiting team and the Argonauts. He conceded a safety to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, then later kicked a field goal for the Argos. Hamilton won the game, 40–23.
During the 2017 season, Hajrullahu kicked the game winning field goal to secure a win in the 105th Grey Cup for Toronto.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

On February 13, 2018, Hajrullahu signed a contract with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats worth roughly CA$145,000. During the season, Hajrullahu converted 85% of his field goals, while the Ti-Cats advanced in the playoffs to the East final before being eliminated. Despite receiving NFL interest, including a workout with the Seattle Seahawks, Hajrullahu took his time in choosing a team for 2019; he eventually signed a 2-year contract to return to Hamilton after six weeks of free agency. He was named a CFL East Division All-Star for the second time in his career for the season. While he would have been in the option year of his contract following the 2019 season, the NFL would not allow its teams to sign CFL players entering these option years. After there was still no resolution to this issue, the Tiger-Cats outright released Hajrullahu on January 9, 2020, to allow him to pursue NFL opportunities.

Los Angeles Rams

On April 13, 2020, Hajrullahu signed a contract with the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League.