Dakoda Shepley says NFL taught him business but keeps focus on football

GUELPH — The harsh business of pro football has often reared its ugly head to Dakoda Shepley, but it hasn’t dampened the Canadian offensive lineman’s enthusiasm for the game.

Since signing with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2018, the six-foot-five, 290-pound Shepley has spent time with six NFL teams — including two stints with the Dallas Cowboys — playing 16 regular-season games.

The 31-year-old Windsor, Ont., native is currently preparing for his first season with the Toronto Argonauts after signing with the CFL team in January.

“It has taught me certainly it’s a business,” Shepley said of bouncing around the NFL. “But at the same time it’s a game and if you can balance those two in your mind and control what you can control, then it doesn’t really matter where you play.

“As an athlete you hear, ‘Control what you can control,’ all the time. All that other stuff is just noise at the end of the day. We’re playing a kid’s game so just keep it at that and don’t make it anything more than it is.”

Shepley signed with the Jets following his collegiate career at the University of British Columbia. A four-year starter at right tackle and guard, Shepley earned a Vanier Cup ring in 2015 and as a senior was a Canada West all-star at right tackle.

After Shepley signed with New York, the Saskatchewan Roughriders took him in the first round, fifth overall, in the 2018 CFL draft. Shepley arrived in Regina the following season and started 14 games as a rookie before opting out of his deal after the CFL cancelled the ’20 season due to the global pandemic and signing with the San Francisco 49ers.

Shepley also spent time with Seattle (2021), Dallas (2022), Indianapolis (2023) and the Cowboys again (2023-2025) before calling the Argos about a return to Canada.

“I thought it would be a good place for me to play towards the end of my career,” Shepley said. “My immediate family is all from Windsor.

“My wife and baby (three-month-old daughter Bowie) are in Dallas and it’s a direct flight so it’s going to be kind of a family reunion here in Toronto.”

Players contacting a team is unique as it’s usually the other way around, but Shepley didn’t think twice about picking up the phone.

“If I’m able to, then I will,” he said. “That’s kind of my motto for everything I do, not just football.

“If I can, I will and if I can, why wouldn’t I? Here I am.”

Last season, Toronto led the CFL in sacks allowed (56) and sported the league’s worst rushing attack (51.6 yards per game). The Argos had the second-ranked aerial game (304.6 yards) but quarterback Nick Arbuckle was sacked 39 times (second only to Edmonton’s Cody Fajardo at 40).

And that didn’t include the numerous hits Arbuckle took while passing. Toronto shut the ’24 Grey Cup MVP down for the remainder of the season Oct. 4 after Arbuckle sustained a shoulder injury in a loss to Hamilton.

Shepley has played all three positions on the offensive line but is expected to be at guard in Toronto.

“He’s a hard worker and I’ve found him to be a great teammate, very coachable,” said Mike Miller, Toronto’s first-year head coach. “Dakoda carries himself to a very high standard and has high expectations and I think that’s continuing to work its way through that entire room.

“I know there’s a great deal of respect for him and how he goes about his business and I believe he’s an even better person.”

Shepley is having no difficulty readjusting to Canadian football.

“It’s all just football,” he said. “There’s a little bit more space between you and the D-line, that’s about it.

“That (yard off ball) can be an advantage, it can be a disadvantage. I guess it’s all how you frame it but it’s just as physical and again, it’s still football.”

There will be eyes on Shepley this season, given his time in the NFL. But the expectations of others are significantly less than what he expects of himself.

“I think pressure is a privilege,” he said. “If I have any more pressure, it’s on myself because I want to be the best I can be at all times.

“You become somewhat of a savvy vet the longer you’re in this game and around these amazing, elite players. You learn things and put them in your tool box and I think I have a few more tools than I did three, four years ago.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2026.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press