After 13 seasons in professional football, the last four with the Edmonton Eskimos, offensive lineman D’Anthony Batiste has announced his retirement.
Batiste posted his goodbyes and thank-yous on Wednesday night.
Batiste, from Marksville, La. and a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, will be heading to the NFL’s Oakland Raiders as the assistant strength and conditioning coach.
“The Eskimos organization would like to thank D’Anthony for all that he’s done for the team and the community of Edmonton,” general manager and vice-president of football operations Brock Sunderland said in a release on Thursdsay. “We wish him continued success with the Oakland Raiders.”
Batiste first came to the Eskimos in 2006 but did not make the team out of training camp. He returned in 2014 to play four seasons, including a starting role in the 2015 Grey Cup season.
In between his stops in Edmonton, Batiste played in 37 games – starting 14 in the NFL with Atlanta, Washington and Arizona.
Batiste’s Eskimos career was four seasons and 56 games, starting all 18 games for the Eskimos in 2015 and 2016. The six-foot-five, 314-pound tackle was released after the 2016 season, but rejoined the team at the end of training camp in 2017 and saw action in four games.
Batiste, who worked as a sheriff’s deputy in Lafayette during Hurricane Katrina, has lived year-round in Edmonton over the last few seasons working as a personal trainer.
Batiste is the second offensive tackle lost from the Eskimos roster this off season with Joel Figueroa going to the B.C. Lions in free agency. Colin Kelly is currently the only international offensive lineman with CFL experience on the Eskimos roster.
Batiste will turn 36 years old on March 29.
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