On Thursday, Saskatchewan Roughriders linebacker Larry Dean announced his retirement after an eight-year CFL career and will join Saskatchewan’s Football Operations Staff.
Larry Dean is six foot and weighs 226 pounds. The 35-year-old from Tifton, Georgia, made 104 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, and one forced fumble in 18 games for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2023 on his way to being named a CFL West All-Star. Dean finishes his career ranked 25th all-time in CFL defensive tackles.
The Roughriders signed Dean as a free agent on February 9, 2021. He did not play in 2021 due to a torn ACL in a workout ahead of training camp. In two seasons, Dean has 205 tackles, seven tackles on special teams, five sacks, four interceptions, and three forced fumbles in 36 games.
Before Saskatchewan, Dean signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played 48 games (2011-13) for the Vikings with 27 tackles. In 2014, Dean played 13 games for the Buffalo Bills with seven tackles. In 2015, Dean was on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad.
Next, Dean signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2016. He played three seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats with 279 tackles, five tackles on special teams, five sacks, three interceptions, one touchdown, and five forced fumbles in 54 games. He is a two-time CFL East All-Star (2017-18), and a 2018 James P. McCaffrey Trophy award winner for the best defensive player in the East Division.
Then, Dean signed with the Edmonton Eskimos (now Elks) in 2019 making 86 tackles, three tackles on special teams, and one sack in 18 games on his way to being named a CFL West All-Star.
Collegiately, Dean played four seasons at Valdosta State (2007-10) with 358 tackles, 9.5 sacks, three interceptions, three touchdowns, 16 pass breakups, five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and two blocked kicks in 47 games for the Blazers.
He was named both an All-American and National Defensive Player of the Year and helped the Blazers win the 2007 NCAA Division II national championship. In 2020, Dean was inducted into the Valdosta State Hall of Fame.
