(Photo by Dave Chidley)
“Is there anything else that should be included in a story about you?”
Terrell Sinkfield paused to think about the question, and after a couple seconds of silence he replied with an uninspired answer.
“I’m a God-fearing man. I’m just an average Joe,” he said. “I told you my story wasn’t that interesting.”
Most uninteresting stories don’t include playing football at a Division-II NCAA school, setting the mark as one of the fastest football players ever, or playing for four separate NFL teams in a single summer. Average Joe’s don’t establish themselves as one of the top offensive performers in the Canadian Football League.
No, Terrell Sinkfield is far from an average Joe, and his story is far more interesting than he’d care to admit.
Sinkfield grew up in the north side of Minneapolis, not in Minnetonka, a mistake that people tend to make.
“Minneapolis is cool, it’s a diverse city, a beautiful city,” said Sinkfield, “it’s a good time and a good place to raise a family.”
Minneapolis is where the Ticats receiver began playing football, starting with flag football when he was seven years old and progressing to tackle shortly thereafter. Youth football is facilitated through the public parks in Minneapolis; kids sign up to play for the park closest to them and square off against other parks across the city.
Growing up, Sinkfield played running back and corner and idolized the top running backs of the day. Along with Eddie George and Marshall Faulk, Sink admired legendary receiver Randy Moss although he didn’t make the transition to receiver until his freshman year of college.
Sinkfield was a standout at Hopkin’s High School, earning recognition as a third-team All-Metro running back and corner in his senior season. As a senior, Sinkfield averaged an impressive 7.2 yards per carry, rushing for a total of 831 yards and 10 touchdowns in his final season with the Royals.
Sinkfield’s athleticism and his ability to create something from nothing on the field grabbed college recruiters’ attention. The 6-foot, 180-lb. Hopkins senior received offers from numerous schools, but it was the hometown burgundy and gold of Minnesota that he hoped to represent for the next four years.
Minnesota came calling, but ultimately never offered a scholarship, so it was off to Northern Iowa for Sinkfield. At the Division-II NCAA school was where the transition to receiver took place for Sinkfield, and while he says that it was a tough transition, he made it look easy.
“I started off at running back, but they had a few running backs that were going to play ahead of me, and they wanted to get me on the field,” explained Sinkfield.
Sink played in four games his freshman season and made just five receptions in 11 games during his sophomore campaign, but the sophomore Sinkfield proved that he was a big-play threat, averaging 26.8 yards per reception.
Sinkfield took his mild sophomore success and ran with it (literally), catching 28 passes in 13 games in his junior season, averaging an eye-popping 16.6 yards per catch and scoring six touchdowns. His 2012 senior season brought more of the same, as Sinkfield set career-highs in catches (43) and receiving yards (499), adding four touchdown receptions.
After four years at Northern Iowa, Terrell Sinkfield did not receive an invitation to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, but he performed the combine drills at his pro day. Four years after he was denied a scholarship to play for the Golden Gophers, the Minneapolis native ran his pro day drills at the Minnesota campus.
At his pro day, Sinkfield turned scouts’ heads— and broke the Internet— with a record time in the 40-yard dash. The drill, often seen as the gold standard for speed evaluations of players, had never been completed as fast as his unofficial time 4.19.
Looking back on the Pro Day, Sinkfield shrugged, “I’m fast, but I won’t give myself the fastest player ever. I’d put myself up there though.”
The record time wasn’t enough to get his name called on draft day, but it was significant enough for Sinkfield to field attention as a priority undrafted free agent following the 2013 NFL Draft, beginning a wild ride for the young receiver.
Beginning on April 27 when he was signed by the Miami Dolphins, and concluding on August 25 when he was cut by the New York Giants, Sinkfield spent time with four different NFL teams over the 2013 summer.
“That was a learning experience,” said Sinkfield, “being an undrafted rookie coming out of a small school in Iowa.”
The Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills each took a shot at him as well, but Sinkfield was unable to stick with any of the four teams.
“It was stressful getting cut and not knowing where I was going to be at,” explained Sinkfield. “I loved the whole experience, but it was still stressful bouncing around, not knowing if you’re going to have a home.”
After seven months away from professional football, Sinkfield took his electric play North of the border, joining the Toronto Argonauts on March 13, 2014.
Sinkfield’s first stint in the CFL lasted three games in which he made seven receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown. The Argos gave up on him though, releasing the rookie on August 26, a year and one day after his release from the Giants.
It was after this long journey that Sinkfield finally wound up on the Tiger-Cats, signing with the team on September 4, 2014.
Sinkfield made a splash in his first game as a member of the team, taking a punt 57 yards for a return touchdown against the Riders. As a member of the Ticats, Sinkfield’s impact was as a secondary contributor in the receiving and return game, pitching in primarily on chunk plays.
Early season struggles in 2015, along with the emergence of other American receivers on the roster resulted in a benching for the second-year receiver. And while it may not have seemed like it at the time, the off time was a blessing in disguise, setting him up for his mid-season breakout.
Following an injury to Bakari Grant, Sinkfield was re-inserted into the Ticats lineup for the August 15 home game against the BC Lions, but it was on August 21 that a switch seemed to flick for the second-year receiver.
On the road in Edmonton, Sinkfield caught six passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns, marking the first time in his CFL career that he had made more than five catches, surpassed 100 yards or made multiple touchdown catches in a single game. 
The game in Edmonton was just the start of Sinkfield’s expanded role and production in the Ticats offence, though. In the four games since, he has recorded a total of 23 receptions, 341 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
When asked what has factored into the success, Sinkfield noted an increased trust between himself and his quarterback and an increased dedication to his craft, primarily an enhanced understanding of the game.
“That helped me a lot, learning the game instead of just going out there and relying on athletic ability,” said Sinkfield. “It makes the game easier and I’ve been playing more comfortably.”
An increased understanding of the defensive side of the ball was instilled upon Sinkfield during the mid-season benching, in which he was playing on the defensive scout team.
“I was running the other teams’ defences every day,” he explained, “I was out there on scout team and I had to know what they were running, ever since I was with the DBs on scout team I’ve really started to understand the defence.”
His ascension to becoming one of the Ticats primary offensive weapons has been created by Sinkfield’s deeper dedication to the game, but it’s been fuelled by a desire to prove his doubters wrong.
“I play with a chip on my shoulder,” said Sinkfield. “I’ve got that for everybody…the Argos, the NFL teams, everybody that’s ever overlooked me.”