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Marcus Benard received a call from the Ottawa Redblacks because the Canadian Football League team wanted to improve its pass rush. It wasn’t because of his ability to fly.

The 31-year-old defensive end survived being thrown an estimated 241 feet — more than the width of a football field — after crashing a motorcycle into an Ohio guard rail in October 2011.

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“God has been good. His angels have been watching over me from there to here, from America to Canada,” Benard said Wednesday following his second Redblacks practice at TD Place stadium.

At the time of the crash, Benard was in his third season with the National Football League’s Cleveland Browns. A broken hand and other injuries from the high-speed accident cost him the rest of the 2011 campaign and he was out of the NFL in 2012, but he played with the Arizona Cardinals in 2013-14, collecting the last of his 15 career quarterback sacks.

“I haven’t played in a while,” the athlete from Adrian, Mich., said after taking extra post-practice reps. “That itch never goes away. I’m just hungry. I’m ready to play ball, wherever it is. It’s pro ball. This was just a blessing for me. It’s a great opportunity.”