HAMILTON — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced Thursday that the football club has released national placekicker Lirim Hajrullahu so that he can pursue opportunities in the National Football League.

Hajrullahu, 29, appeared in all 18 regular-season games with the Tiger-Cats in 2019, converting 47-of-55 field goal attempts (85.5%) and 26-of-28 single convert attempts (92.8%), while averaging 43.1 yards per punt on 106 attempts.

The 5-11, 205-pound native of St. Catherines, Ontario ranked first in the CFL in field goals made (tie-47), third in scoring (162 points) and sixth in field goal percentage.

Hajrullahu earned division all-star honours for the first time as a Tiger-Cat and second time in his career (2016, 2019).