Tyron Vrede

Tyron Vrede (born 18 September 1996) is a Dutch professional gridiron football linebacker for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was the tenth overall pick by the Redblacks in the 2021 CFL global draft.

Early life Vrede grew up playing association football in his hometown of Amsterdam, describing himself as a physical player, but got interested in American football after he was gifted a copy of the video game Madden 2000 for the PlayStation. Since the Netherlands does not allow kids to play tackle football until they are 17, he played flag football for a few months before he could join a full-contact team. He played in the EFL Bowl in 2016, which they lost to the Frankfurt Universe. He also helped the Falcons upset an unbeaten Shasta College team in the 2016 American Division Bowl, tallying nine tackles in the 20–14 comeback victory. However, the coaching staff was fired in the offseason, leading Vrede to transfer to Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas. His performance helped him land a scholarship to play NCAA Division I football at the University of North Dakota. In 2019, Vrede played in all 12 games and recorded 33 tackles, four tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He tallied five tackles in their season opening win against Drake.

Vrede graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2020.

Professional career Ottawa Redblacks

Vrede was selected by the Ottawa Redblacks with the tenth overall pick in the 2021 CFL global draft. Before the draft, JC Abbott of 3DownNation.com had rated him as the second-best linebacker available after Les Maruo. Vrede signed with the Redblacks in late April, and officially made the roster after final cuts were announced a week before the start of the 2021 season. He recorded four special teams tackles in his first four games and finished the year third on the team with ten special teams tackles in 14 games played. He also broke into the defensive rotation towards the end of the season, where he recorded five defensive tackles. At the start of the 2023 season, he played in the first four games where he had 18 defensive tackles, including a career-high 11 defensive tackles on July 8, 2023, against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He also recorded two special teams tackles in those games, but suffered a season-ending injury and was out for the remainder of the year. After becoming a free agent in the following offseason, Vrede re-signed with the Redblacks to a one-year contract. He became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 10, 2026.

Saskatchewan Roughriders On February 10, 2026, it was announced that Vrede had signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. On July 2, he was released.

Edmonton Elks On July 3, 2026, Vrede signed with the Edmonton Elks practice roster.