The Edmonton Eskimos have lost another player who will try his hand in the National Football League.
The Minnesota Vikings have signed Brandon Zylstra, the team announced on Wednesday.
Zylstra, a Minnesota native, joins the Vikings on a reserve/future free agent contract.
“It’s great,” Zylstra told 630 CHED on Friday. “It’s something I’ve only dreamed about since I was a little kid — wearing that purple and gold.”
The wide receiver spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons with Edmonton, leading the Canadian Football League with 1,687 receiving yards last season on 100 catches with five touchdowns.
He was one of five Edmonton Eskimos to be named a 2017 CFL All Star.
Heading into the off-season, the Eskimos had the longest list of pending free agents in the league with 37 players.
Zylstra grew up in Spicer, Minn. and went to New London-Spicer High School and Concordia-Moorhead College.
He finished his career in Concordia with 1,932 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns in 29 games with the Cobbers.
Since the news of the Vikings signing, Zylstra said he’s fielded supportive messages from across the country and CFL.
“The Edmonton fans have been so good to me,” he said.
“These last few days it’s been, honestly, a little overwhelming — just all the kind words, the times that people have reached out to me on different social media, thanking me and wishing me the best of luck. All that stuff means so much to me.”
Other Eskimos players to try their luck in the NFL include receiver Derel Walker, defensive back Aaron Grymes and defensive back Dexter McCoil.
On Wednesday, the Eskimos also announced the resigning of international offensive lineman D’Anthony Batiste through the 2019 season.
Batiste appeared in just four games for the team last season and spent most of it on the team’s practice roster. The 2015 West Division All-Star has played 55 games for the Eskimos. The Louisiana native was a member of the 2015 Grey Cup championship Eskimos team.