He is the son of Everton Sutherland and Sylvie Cloutier. First choice of the Montreal Alouettes, fifth overall in the Canadian Football League draft on Tuesday night, Jonathan Sutherland represents the new bet taken by general manager Danny Maciocia.
A color holder for the prestigious Penn State University in recent years, Sutherland also signed an agreement with the Seattle Seahawks last week as an undrafted free agent by the NFL.
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“It’s a bit like the same risk we took with [Marc-Antoine] Why and [Pier-Olivier] Weighting when selected [NDLR : en 2020 et 2021, respectivement], Maciocia agreed, of the decision to draft Sutherland. We have enough information on Jonathan, we know that he is going to Seahawks camp and we wish him good luck. If it ever doesn’t work for him on the other side of the border, I can tell you that we’re going to have an impact player on the defensive side with the Alouettes.”
Dequoy and Lestage both wear the colors of the Alouettes, despite similar agreements at the time of their draft. The first could not carve out a place with the Green Bay Packers while the second stayed with the Seahawks for a bit before being released in June 2022.
And what will happen to Sutherland?
“Obviously, everything is on hold right now because we don’t know how things will go with Seattle, commented the main interested party. It’s impossible to predict. I’m going to rookie mini-camp next week. It will be a great opportunity to meet the coaches and the other players in order to compete.
Family in Montreal
If ever Sutherland ends up in Montreal, he will certainly be disappointed, but he will not come backwards either.
“My mother was born in Montreal and I have family there. My father grew up in Jamaica, but he moved to Montreal and that’s where he met my mother,” said the Ottawa native, who has visited the city many times.
“I am very grateful to be in the position in which I am, to add the one who continued his studies in high school, in Virginia. I practice this sport since I was 8 years old and I put a lot of work to get there. To see that it pays off is an honor.”
Versatile, Sutherland can play in different defensive positions, whether it’s linebacker or safety. It could also be very useful on special teams.
Ready to wait
Maciocia knows very well that Sutherland was among the most talented players during this draft, but that some teams did not want to take any risks because of his association with the Seahawks.
“We were wondering if it was possible to see Sutherland slip to fifth place,” said the Alouettes’ GM. We know that other teams prefer players who are available at the start of the camp and are not too interested in waiting for players with trials in the United States.
Maciocia and the Alouettes took a similar gamble with their other first-round pick, seventh overall, betting on Lwal Uguak, a defensive lineman from Texas Christian University. This one will be on trial with the New York Giants.
“As an organization, we calculated and we decided that we were patient enough to wait for them, summed up Maciocia. Because if they ever get here, they are impact players.
“He’s a dominant player,” said the general manager of Uguak. We love him very, very much.”
- The Alouettes completed their draft with six other selections: David Dallaire (Laval), Theo Grant (Queen’s), Jacob Mason (McMAster), Shedler Fervius (Saint Mary’s), Chase Brown (Illinois) and Maxym Lavallée (Laval).
- Among the oddly risky choices, the Sakatchewan Roughriders drafted Quebecer Sidy Sow in the sixth round (48th overall). However, Sow was selected in the fourth round by the New England Patriots, in the NFL, last weekend. His future seems far from Saskatchewan.