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Matt O'Donnell, the Canadian Football League draftee that skipped his team's rookie camp in order to engage in a June workout with the Boston Celtics, has inked an NFL deal the Cincinnati Bengals. From the Canadian Press:

The next phase of Matt O'Donnell's eventful off-season sports odyssey is going to take him to the NFL.

The towering 6-foot-10, 325-pound offensive lineman with the Queen's Gaels signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday. The NFL becomes the third different professional league O'Donnell has been associated with since the end of the Canadian university football season.

O'Donnell took part in the CFL's evaluation camp in March and was selected in the second round, 15th overall, by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian college draft in May. But he put his CFL aspirations on hold to instead take part in a tryout with the NBA's Boston Celtics despite having not played basketball since high school.

On Thursday, O'Donnell will trade his highcuts in for cleats and again don the pads when the Bengals open their training camp in Georgetown, Ky.

"It's been pretty hectic," O'Donnell said. "But there's also been quite a lot of time between events.

"I'm just tremendously happy to have this set in stone and know where I'm finally going now."

O'Donnell said he's open to the idea of returning to the CFL if his NFL aspirations don't pan out. It's probably a safer bet than waiting for this NBA lockout to end.

(h/t: @MrTrpleDouble10)

A report Tuesday indicated that a Canadian Football League draftee wouldn't report to camp because of potential interest from the Boston Celtics. In Wednesday's edition of the Barrie (Ontario) Examiner, Matt O'Donnell's father tells the paper that his son is in Boston today to participate in the team's big man pre-draft workout:

The father of former Queen's Golden Gaels star offensive lineman Matt O'Donnell says his son has a tryout with the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics on Wednesday.

Jim O'Donnell said the 6-foot-10, 329-pound Matt O'Donnell will not report to the Saskatchewan Roughriders' Canadian Football League rookie camp on Wednesday after the Celtics asked to take a look at the Holy Cross graduate recently.

Matt played intramural basketball at Queen's, but the native of Nanaimo, B.C. — who is also a former Barrie resident — has not played organized hoops since his days at Holy Cross.

A two-time all-Canadian football player at Queen's and a member of the Golden Gaels' 2009 Vanier Cup team, O'Donnell was selected 15th overall by the Roughriders in the CFL Canadian draft last month.

"(The Celtics tryout) came about because of testing (numbers) at the CFL evaluation camp," Jim O'Donnell said. "They looked at his numbers and his athletic ability and (decided) it was worthwhile giving the kid a chance."

Jim said O'Donnell flew down to Boston on Tuesday.

Jim said Matt also is receiving "serious consideration" from a National Football League team. However, with the NFL in a lockout, teams can't sign any undrafted free agents.

Friday is a key date for the NFL lockout as arguments will be made in St. Louis for the league's appeal of a court's injunction to lift the lockout.

"Unfortunately, with the NFL being in a position where they can't sign him right now, we just have to be patient," Jim O'Donnell said.

"The kid's got a lot of options."

Asked where his son would most like to be, Jim O'Donnell said, "I think probably the NFL right now, but that's just me. He'd really love to have an opportunity to showcase himself down there. But he'd be very pleased and honoured to play for the Roughriders."

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The Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League open rookie camp on Wednesday and don't believe they'll have the services of unsigned second-round draft pick Matt O'Donnell. The rumored hang-up? Interest in O'Donnell from the Boston Celtics. The Leader-Post of Saskatchewan explains:

It's believed that O'Donnell has not signed because there has been some interest in the Canadian offensive tackle by the NBA's Boston Celtics. O'Donnell, who is listed at 340 pounds, hasn't played basketball since high school. O'Donnell and Hardaway could not be reached for comment Monday.

Taman had heard about the possible interest in O'Donnell by the Celtics, but that was the extent of it.

"The crux of the matter is we start rookie camp on Wednesday and (O'Donnell) may be the only draft pick (of five in the 2011 CFL draft by the Riders) we don't have in camp at that point,'' Taman said.

* Forsberg's take: OK, we all know the Celtics could use a big man and at 6-10, 340 pounds, O'Donnell fits the bill. Alas, we'd have to assume that any initial interest is merely curiosity if the 22-year-old O'Donnell hasn't played hoops since high school.