Michael Sam has officially become pro football’s first openly gay player, making his debut for the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes on Friday night.

Sam, a seventh-round draft pick of the Rams last year who has not been able to make an NFL regular-season roster, played sparingly and did not have an impact as the Alouettes lost to the Ottawa Redblacks.

“I love football,” Sam said. “I was nervous when I first got on the field. . . . I didn’t get many opportunities to make any plays. I had some good pass rushes, I thought, but close is not a sack.”

Sam left the Alouettes during training camp for still-unexplained personal reasons and has been buried on the depth chart since then. But getting on the field on Friday night represents progress, both for Sam personally and for the game of football.