Former CFL player Marc-Antoine Dequoy on Canadian men's flag football team's radar

Montreal Alouettes' Marc-Antoine Dequoy speaks to reporters during an end-of-season interview in Montreal on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

It seems Marc-Antoine Dequoy isn’t finished with football just yet.

The Canadian safety retired Feb. 2 after five seasons with the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes. Dequoy, 31, cited the physical toll football had taken on him physically in deciding to step away from the pro game.

But the six-foot-one, 190-pound Dequoy -- a Grey Cup champion with Montreal in 2023 -- has been in contact with the Canadian men’s flag football team and would like to join the program. However, a prior commitment will prevent Dequoy from attending the squad’s selection camp that begins Thursday at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg and runs through May 3.

“He’s interested, he’s in the mix, he just can’t make this camp,” Canadian team head coach Paul LaPolice said Tuesday. “He’s been meeting with the defensive coaches, he has been watching film of our program and had a playbook since March.”

Thirty players have been invited to the Manitoba selection camp. That number is expected to be reduced to between 18 and 20 for the Canadian squad’s June training camp in California in preparation for the world championship tournament in Germany in August.

“We have to pick our roster and we’ll see where he goes,” LaPolice said regarding whether Dequoy will be invited to the California camp. “But he’s a part of the process of us figuring out whether he’ll make the next trip.”

The top-two teams in Germany will secure berths to the 2028 Los Angeles Games, where flag football will make its Olympic debut. If the United States reaches the world championship final, the top-three squads will advance as the Americans already have a spot as host.

The world championship isn’t the final Olympic qualifying event. But failing to do lock up a spot in Germany would mean Canada having to participate in the ’27 IFAF continental championship and then the final Olympic qualifier series in 2028.

A healthy Dequoy would be a solid addition to the Canadian squad. The former CFL player is not only tall and lean but has long arms and runs very well, all qualities that transition well into the flag game.

“He’s a great football player,” LaPolice said. “You don’t often get an elite CFL starting free safety in the prime of his career (dropping) into your lap so we’re pretty excited.”

Montreal selected Dequoy in the second round, No. 14 overall, in the 2020 CFL draft. The former Montreal Carabin played 73 regular-season games over five seasons with the Alouettes, twice being named a league all-star (2023, 2024).

Dequoy registered 162 defensive tackles, 21 special-teams tackles, 12 interceptions, three sacks and five forced fumbles while scoring three touchdowns. He also had two playoff interceptions, returning one for a TD in Montreal’s 38-17 win over Toronto in the ’23 East Division final.

Dequoy, of l’Île-Bizard, Que., played four seasons at Montreal, helping the Carabins reach the ’19 Vanier Cup game. Three times he was named to U Sports and Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RESQ) all-star teams and in 2020 participated in the Green Bay Packers rookie mini-camp before joining the Alouettes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2026.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press