The Saskatchewan Roughriders are giving quarterback Vince Young a chance to get back into professional football.
The CFL’s Roughriders announced Thursday that they have signed the 33-year-old Young. Terms of the deal weren’t announced.
Young, a two-timePro Bowl selection during his NFL career, hasn’t played in a regular-season game since 2011. The product of Houston retired from the NFL in 2014.
In Saskatchewan, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Young joins a quarterbacking crew that currently includes Bryan Bennett, Brandon Bridge, Kevin Glenn, G.J. Kinne and Jake Waters.
Saskatchewan’s brass set up a meeting with Young while conducting a quarterback school in Texas in late January. The Roughriders put the former University of Texas pivot on their negotiation list after that meeting, giving them exclusive negotiating rights with him.
Saskatchewan head coach/GM Chris Jones, offensive co-ordinator Stephen McAdoo and 
quarterbacks coach Jarious Jackson worked out Young last week in Austin, Texas, and were suitably impressed. A contract offer was made and, ultimately, a deal was reached.
Young had a spectacular college career at Texas, guiding the Longhorns to a 30-2 record over his three seasons as a starter.
During his time at Texas, Young passed for 6,040 yards and 44 touchdowns and rushed for 3,127 yards and 37 TDs. In 2005, he became the first quarterback in NCAA Division 1 history to exceed 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in the same season.
He had 467 yards of total offence (267 yards passing, 200 yards rushing) and ran for three TDs to lead the Longhorns to a 41-38 victory over the USC Trojans in the 2006 Rose Bowl — that year’s national championship game.
He was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy in 2005.
Young was drafted in the first round (third overall) of the 2006 NFL draft by the Tennessee Titans. After starting 13 games in the 2006 season, he was named the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year and was selected to appear in the Pro Bowl.
He was named to the Pro Bowl roster again following his fourth season in Tennessee.
Young was released by the Titans on July 28, 2011, and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles the following day. He appeared in six games with them that season.
After his career in Philadelphia ended, he had stints with the Buffalo Bills (2012), Green Bay Packers (2013) and Cleveland Browns (2014) but didn’t appear in a regular-season game with any of them.
He hasn’t been on a team since he was released by the Browns on May 12, 2014. He announced his retirement on June 14, 2014, with a career record of 31-19 as an NFL starter.
His final NFL regular-season statistics included 755 completions in 1,304 pass attempts for 8,964 yards, with 46 touchdowns and 51 interceptions, and 282 carries for 1,459 yards with 12 touchdowns.
Since leaving the NFL, Young has been working for the University of Texas in its diversity department and doing TV work on the Longhorn Network. His holdings include a steakhouse and a real estate brokerage.
