LONDON — The NFL doesn’t have plans for any more regular-season games in Canada, but that doesn’t mean the league is turning a blind eye to the north.

As the NFL seeks to groom more international talent, a top executive believes Canada could serve as a fertile ground to identify potential players through workout camps known as combines.

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"We have regional combines in the U.S.," NFL executive vice president of international Mark Waller told Sporting News in an exclusive interview. “Why not an original combine going into Canada that looks not only at Canadian athletes but potentially extends invitations abroad?”

Of the four major American sports leagues, the NFL is the only one without a minor-league system designed to develop players who aren’t pro-ready. NFL Europe was shuttered in 2007 when playing regular season games outside the U.S. became the league’s focus for international growth.

The only commitment the NFL has made toward better developing prospects in recent years was expanding the size of practice squads to 10 players. However, limitations on the amount of time coaches can spend doing on-field work during the offseason has curtailed some of its effectiveness.

Waller said the league already has steps in place to try to identify international athletes with NFL possibilities. For example, Waller said ex-defensive end and London native Osi Umenyiora was part of a group that scouted wide receiver Moritz Bohringer from the German Football League. Despite not having played college football, Bohringer became a sixth-round pick by Minnesota in last April’s draft. He is a member of the team’s practice squad.

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Waller said international combines would be "much more geared to finding potential cross-over athletes — athletes who are already developed in, let’s say, rugby and we bring them in.

"We’re looking at skill set transferability and the potential for those athletes to grow into the NFL," he continued. “I think that’s an interesting area of opportunity for us. I think it would be an interesting area of opportunity for the countries that could potentially be interested in that."

Waller is well aware that the transition international athletes face in trying to master the nuances of pro football is especially difficult for those who didn’t grow up playing the game or immersed in the trappings of it. Jarryd Hayne had that problem in 2015. He was a star Australian rugby player who had the physical dimensions to thrive in the NFL. But Hayne quit after one season with San Francisco, citing a lack of playing and practice time that was hindering his development.

"It’s not just all athletic talent and capability," Waller said. "Our game is a very different game from a learning standpoint to a playbook and cultural perspective, and the pressure of only playing 16 games a year and every minute of every game counting. There’s little room for error and to learn while playing.

"But we definitely need to do more work in that area. There’s definitely a host of potential athletes that could and should play in the NFL."

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The NFL’s last regular season game in Canada came in 2013 before the Buffalo Bills canceled their agreement for more Toronto contests. Waller laments that the NFL isn’t looking to return.

"At the moment, we don’t have enough inventory (of international games) to commit going back to Canada, which we probably should be doing," Waller said. "We’ve got a fan base there and a hugely popular sport."

A sport that could become even more popular if Canadian athletes dotted NFL rosters.