Sean Whyte (Canadian football)
No. 10 BC Lions | ||
Big Kahuna Rams | ||
Career history | ||
---|---|---|
As player | ||
2007–2010 | BC Lions | |
2011–2015 | Montreal Alouettes | |
2015–2021 | Edmonton Eskimos / Elks | |
2022–present | BC Lions | |
Career highlights and awards | ||
CFL All-Star | Field goals made 468 | |
Field goals attempted | 533 | |
Field goal % | 87.80 | |
Points scored | 1,928 | |
Longest field goal | 55 | |
|
Sean Whyte (born October 23, 1985) is a professional Canadian football placekicker for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Amateur career
Whyte played
Professional career
BC Lions
Whyte was signed by the BC Lions as a territorial exemption on May 29, 2007, where he practiced regularly with the team throughout the season.[1][3] Later that year, he signed a three-year contract to remain with the Lions.[1] In 2008, he spent the year on the practice roster.[4]
In
Whyte returned to the Lions in 2010 as the backup kicker and saw little game action due to McCallum's strong play.[6] Whyte played in only two regular season games where he made all six of his field goal attempts and punted 15 times for a 40.1-yard average.[5]
Montreal Alouettes
Whyte was traded to the
Whyte continued to play well for the Alouettes as he connected on 80.5% of his field goal attempts in 2012 and 82.0% in 2013, where he was named a Division All-Star for the first time in his career.[5] He had his best season as an Alouette in 2014 when he made 41 of 47 field goal attempts for an 87.2% completion rate and had a career-high punting average of 44.9 yards.[5] Despite his excellent season, Whyte fell out of favour with the Alouettes in 2015 as the team opted to dress rookie Boris Bede as the team's kicker due to his stronger leg.[9] Whyte spent the first six games on the reserve roster behind Bede, who performed well enough for Whyte to be released on August 10, 2015.[10][11]
Edmonton Eskimos / Elks
On September 4, 2015, it was announced that Whyte had signed with the
In his second year with the Eskimos, Whyte had his best season as he made 45 of 48 field goal attempts for a 93.8% completion rate, which was the third-best completion percentage in CFL history, at the time.[5] However, he was not awarded All-Star status due to Justin Medlock kicking a CFL-record 60 field goals that year.[14] After suffering an injury in 2017 that caused him to miss 12 games, he returned in 2018 where he made 36 of 40 field goal attempts.[5]
In 2019, he was the unanimous selection for the Eskimos' Most Outstanding Special Teams Player.[15] He signed a contract extension through the 2021 season with the team on December 31, 2020.[16] He became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 8, 2022.[17]
BC Lions (II)
On the first day of free agency, on February 8, 2022, Whyte signed with the BC Lions.[18] After wearing number 6 with the Alouettes and Elks, he opted to return to wearing number 10, his old number with the Lions and the same number as one of his favourite hockey players, Pavel Bure.[19] In his first season back with the Lions, he connected on 36 of 39 field goal attempts for a rate of 92.3%, which was the sixth-best single season rate in CFL history, but Rene Paredes was named the All-Star in 2022 after making 54 of 60 attempts.[5]
On December 7, 2022, Whyte signed a two-year contract extension with BC.[20] In 2023, Whyte had the best season of his career, as he connected on 50 of 53 field goal attempts, a rate of 94.3%, which tied for the fourth-best completion percentage in CFL history (Boris Bede had a 94.9% completion rate that year).[21] At the end of the season, he was named a divisional All-Star for the second time in his career and he was a CFL All-Star for the first time in his career.[22]
Personal life
Whyte was born to parents Pat and Tom and has two siblings, Jeff and Jennifer.[19]
References
- ^ a b c d "Whyte offered Lions contract". Vancouver Sun. October 16, 2007. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
- ^ "Canadian Junior Football League All-Canadian Teams" (PDF). Canadian Junior Football League. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
- ^ "Transactions – Football player trades and signings". Canadian Football League. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
- ^ "Transactions – Football player trades and signings". Canadian Football League. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Sean Whyte". BC Lions. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
- ^ Hamilton Spectator. July 7, 2010.
- ^ "Lions deal kicker Sean Whyte to Montreal". Canadian Football League. May 8, 2011.
- ^ "White Rock kicker up for CFL award". Peace Arch News. November 14, 2011.
- ^ "As N.F.L. Prepares for Longer Extra Points, C.F.L. Offers a Preview". The New York Times. August 15, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Transactions – Football player trades and signings". Canadian Football League. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
- ^ "Alouettes release kicker Sean Whyte from roster". CTV News. August 10, 2015.
- ^ "Edmonton Eskimos sign former Alouettes star kicker Sean Whyte". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. September 4, 2015.
- ^ "Ottawa Redblacks vs Edmonton Eskimos". Canadian Football League. November 29, 2022.
- ^ "Stars Aligned: CFL Divisional All-Stars announced". Canadian Football League. November 9, 2016.
- ^ "CFL announces 2019 team award winners". October 30, 2019.
- ^ "EE Football Team extends the contracts of five players". Esks.com. December 31, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
- ^ "Transactions – Football player trades and signings". Canadian Football League. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
- ^ "Kicker Sean Whyte inks deal with BC Lions". Canadian Football League. February 8, 2022.
- ^ a b "Kicker Sean Whyte back where it all started — with the B.C. Lions". The Province. February 9, 2022.
- ^ "Whyte Returns! Kicker Signs Two-Year Extension". BC Lions. December 7, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ "2023 CFL statistics" (PDF). Canadian Football League. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
- ^ "Stars of the show: 2023 CFL All-Stars, fan favourite unveiled". Canadian Football League. November 8, 2023.
External links
- BC Lions bio
- Media related to Sean Whyte (Canadian football) at Wikimedia Commons