| Mario Alford | |
| Current Team: | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| Number: | 2 |
| Position: | Wide receiver |
| Birth Date: | February 25, 1992 |
| Birth Place: | Greenville, Georgia, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 5 |
| Height In: | 8 |
| Weight Lbs: | 177 |
| High School: | Greenville |
| Draftyear: | 2015 |
| Draftround: | 7 |
| Draftpick: | 238 |
| Pastteams: | |
| Status: | Active |
| Cflstatus: | American |
| Highlights: |
|
| Statlabel1: | Receptions |
| Statvalue1: | 1 |
| Statlabel2: | Receiving yards |
| Statvalue2: | 15 |
| Statlabel3: | Receiving touchdowns |
| Pfr: | A/AlfoMa00 |
| Cflstatlabel1: | Receptions |
| Cflstatvalue1: | 8 |
| Cflstatlabel2: | Receiving yards |
| Cflstatvalue2: | 71 |
| Cflstatlabel3: | Receiving touchdowns |
| Cflstatlabel4: | Return yards |
| Cflstatvalue4: | 2,834 |
| Cflstatlabel5: | Return touchdowns |
| Cflstatvalue5: | 7 |
| Cfl: | mario-alford/161183/ |
Mario Alford (born February 25, 1992) is an American professional football wide receiver and Return specialist for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers,[1] [2] [3] earning first-team All-American honors in 2014.
Alford was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round, 238th overall, in the 2015 NFL draft.[4] He played in one game his rookie year with the Bengals registering one catch for 15 yards. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Bengals.[5]
On November 16, 2016, Alford was signed to the practice squad of the New York Jets.[6] He was released by the team on December 6, 2016.[7]
Alford was signed to the Cleveland Browns' practice squad on December 13, 2016.[8] He was promoted to the active roster on December 17, 2016.[9]
On September 1, 2017, Alford was waived by the Browns during roster cutdowns.[10]
On September 12, 2017, Alford was signed to the Chicago Bears' practice squad.[11]
On June 3, 2018, Alford signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). In his lone season in Toronto, Alford appeared in six games and caught seven passes for 57 yards, returned eight kick-offs for 170 yards, had five punt returns for seven yards, and rushed the ball once for 10 yards.[12] He was released on May 25, 2019.
On September 24, 2019, it was announced that Alford had signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL.[13] He was signed for the 2021 season on December 15, 2020.[14] Over parts of three seasons, Alford played in nine games with the Alouettes where he had 24 kickoff returns for 477 yards, 26 punt returns for 486 yards and three touchdowns, and two missed field goal returns for 45 yards.[12]
On July 3, 2022, Alford was traded to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2023 CFL Draft.[15] He played in 13 regular season games for the team where he had 38 kickoff returns for 990 yards and two touchdowns, 44 punt returns for 530 yards and one touchdown, and three missed field goal returns for 129 yards and one touchdown.[12] For his strong season, he was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Special Teams Player in 2022.[16]
On November 15, 2022, the Roughriders announced that Alford had signed a contract extension with the team.[17] In 2023, he had 2,266 combined yards (978 punt return, 1,181 kickoff return, 107 missed field goal return). Alford added three touchdowns on punt returns, including two on July 15 against the Calgary Stampeders.
On January 4, 2024, the Roughriders announced that Alford had signed a one-year contract extension with the team.[18]