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<\/p>\nPene joined the Patriots in 2025 as an undrafted free agent. But he was released June 26 when his international visa, which allowed Pene to play at Virginia Tech, expired.<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
His paperwork now in order, Pene can pursue a pro career in Canada. But the circumstances surrounding his departure from New England were a bitter disappointment for someone who\u2019d left family and friends behind in France to play football in U.S.<\/p>\n
Pene was a two-time All-New England selection at Sir Thomas More Prep in Oakdale, Conn. He had eight catches for 183 yards with four TDs while posting 47 tackles (11 for loss), 15.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and a blocked punt.<\/p>\n
\u201cMan, it was very frustrating,\u201d Pene said. \u201cYou work hard all of those years and just because of a situation involving a piece of paper your dream gets cut short.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when you find peace with it and realize the dream isn\u2019t over, then you can move on. I have a shot to go to the CFL and prove I\u2019m still a good football player.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pene will be among 82 players in Edmonton. On the agenda will be traditional testing \u2014 such as the 225-pound bench press, 40-yard dash and vertical leap \u2014 one-on-one drills and team interviews.<\/p>\n
The combine begins Friday and runs through Sunday. Predictably, Pene is looking forward to it.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting cut because of a piece of paper makes me hungrier because I know I can play football,\u201d he said. \u201cI just want to let go of all that frustration and put everything on the field and just play.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know we\u2019re going to have some one-on-ones \u2026 I might start with a bullrush on the first one. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll lose that rep but even if I do I don\u2019t care. I just want to hear that \u2018Pop.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Pene\u2019s football journey has certainly been down a long and winding road. When he first began playing the game, it was as a running back and linebacker before his size resulted in a move to tight end.<\/p>\n
At Virginia Tech, injuries forced coaches to shift Pene from defensive end to tackle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted to play,\u201d Pene said. \u201cBeing inside versus at end is very much a different game because you get double-teamed by a combined 600-plus pounds and it\u2019s tough.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut because I was strong, agile and mobile, I used those as my strengths and I think they (Hokies coaches) saw that potential. I think using my quickness inside, it\u2019s hard for offensive linemen to block me especially if I\u2019m able to go upfield in more of an attack defence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pene\u2019s versatility wouldn\u2019t hurt him in the CFL, where teams can have a maximum of 45 players \u2014 and a least one global \u2014 on their active roster. Pene understands the nuances of Canadian football having followed it since he was a youth in France and even had friends play in the league.<\/p>\n
Kickers and punters have dominated the CFL global draft since its inception in 2021. But defensive players went first overall from 2022-24, including defensive linemen Kingsley Jonathan (2022 by Montreal but remained in the NFL) and Blessman Ta\u2019ala (2023 by Ottawa).<\/p>\n
Pene doesn\u2019t really know where he might go in the draft but isn\u2019t worrying about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want an opportunity,\u201d he said. \u201cOf course, a part of me expects to be drafted high but at the end of the day, I\u2019ll be drafted when I have to be drafted and I\u2019ll let that decide this for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ideally, Pene would like another NFL opportunity but remains open to playing long-term in Canada if he\u2019s in the right situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo I feel like I can play in the NFL? Yes,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter doing OTAs (organized team activities) last year, I don\u2019t see why I can\u2019t play in the NFL.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut as long as I can make a living playing football, one way or the other, I\u2019ll do it because I just love to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2026.<\/p>\n
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pene joined the Patriots in 2025 as an undrafted free agent. But he was released June 26 when…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556072,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-559584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=559584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/556072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=559584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=559584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=559584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}