Emmanuel "Manny" Arceneaux (born September 17, 1987) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played 11 seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the BC Lions, Saskatchewan Roughriders, and Edmonton Elks. He played college football for the Alcorn State Braves.
Arceneaux signed as an undrafted free agent with the Lions in 2009. He was also a member of the Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins, New York Jets, and Frisco Fighters.
College career While at Alcorn State University, Arceneaux maintained a 3.0 GPA and was president of the student-athlete advisory committee, while recording 99 career catches for 1,618 and 12 touchdowns for the Braves. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
Professional career BC Lions (first stint) Arceneaux was signed to the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) on May 19, 2009, and made the Lions' active roster after training camp. Arceneaux had an outstanding debut season, starting at the wide receiver position for all 18 games and recording 63 catches for 858 yards and seven touchdowns. He caught a touchdown pass in each of his first three games and had two 100-yard receiving games during the season. He led all receivers in the 2009 playoffs, recording 12 catches for 189 yards. He continued his strong play in 2010 by registering his first 1000-yard season while finishing second on the team in receiving yards and touchdowns.
Minnesota Vikings On January 22, 2011, Arceneaux agreed to the terms on a three-year contract with the Minnesota Vikings. During the 2011 season, he played in three regular season games, catching one pass for 10 yards. On August 31, 2012, as the Vikings reduced their roster down to league maximum of 53 players, he was released.
Washington Redskins On September 1, 2012, the Washington Redskins claimed Arceneaux off waivers and signed him to the practice squad.
New York Jets Arceneaux was signed by the New York Jets to a reserve/future contract on January 2, 2013. He was waived on May 7, 2013.
BC Lions (second stint) On May 16, 2013, Arceneaux's agent announced that Arceneaux would be returning to CFL within a week. The Lions, Toronto Argonauts and Edmonton Eskimos were all believed to have interest in the free-agent. On May 21, 2013, it was officially announced that Arceneaux had signed with the Lions, with whom he had played two seasons with before going south to the NFL. The contract was reportedly a two-year, $280,000 deal. Arceneaux was fined an undisclosed amount by the CFL following a Week 4 touchdown celebration involving props. Arceneaux used the end-zone corner post and the football to mimic putting in golf. Arceneaux gained an increasingly prominent role in the Lions offense over the next three seasons, culminating in being named a CFL All-Star in 2015 after setting (then) career highs in receptions, yards and touchdowns. Following the 2015 CFL season Arceneaux was re-signed by the Lions through the 2017 CFL season.
Arceneaux continued his stellar play in 2016 and 2017, catching at least 100 receptions in both seasons. On December 12, 2017, the Lions announced they had re-signed Arceneaux to a one-year deal through the 2018 season. Arceneaux suffered a torn ACL halfway through the season, at the time of the injury he was the Lions leading receiver in catches and yards.
Saskatchewan Roughriders Arceneaux was signed to a one-year contract by the Saskatchewan Roughriders on February 15, 2019. He played in 11 games and recorded 22 receptions for 249 yards and two touchdowns. He also played in the Roughriders' West Final loss where he had one catch for five yards. He became a free agent on February 11, 2020.
Frisco Fighters Arceneaux hoped to play one final season in 2020 before retiring, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused the 2020 CFL season to be cancelled.
In April 2021, Arceneaux signed with the Frisco Fighters of the Indoor Football League, after being persuaded by Frisco quarterback Jonathan Bane to join the team. The 33-year old receiver reflected on his "rookie season" in indoor football as potentially his last, which he considers the opposite of many indoor football players' careers, as the sport is more often used by younger players seeking a stepping stone to NFL or CFL play. Arceneaux caught 36 passes for 320 yards and 6 touchdowns, along with scoring 3 rushing touchdowns over 11 regular season games. In the 2 playoff games Frisco played prior to elimination, Arceneaux added 67 more yards on 4 catches, plus two more rushing touchdowns.
Edmonton Elks On January 26, 2022, it was announced that Arceneaux had signed with the Edmonton Elks. On June 24, 2023, the Elks announced they had placed him on the six-game injured list with a knee injury. He played in 12 regular season games where he had 28 receptions for 346 yards. In the following offseason, he became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 13, 2024. Arceneaux announced his retirement from professional football on May 7, 2024.
Career statistics Receiving Regular season Playoffs Year Team 2009 BC 18 63 858 13.6 60 7 2 12 189 15.8 49 0 2010 BC 18 67 1,114 16.6 74 5 1 5 80 16.0 29 1 2011 MIN 3 1 10 10.0 10 0 Team did not qualify 2013 BC 16 51 885 17.4 80 6 1 5 53 10.6 23 0 2014 BC 15 62 905 14.6 53 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 2015 BC 17 76 1,151 15.1 82 9 1 2 28 14 23 0 2016 BC 18 105 1,566 14.9 70 13 2 10 124 12.4 26 1 2017 BC 18 100 1,137 11.4 55 6 Team did not qualify2018BC 9 32 553 17.3 78 1Injured2019SSK 11 22 249 11.3 55 2 1 1 5 5.0 5 02021FF 11 36 320 8.9 30 6 2 4 67 16.75 24 02022EDM 12 39 513 13.2 66 1Team did not qualify2023EDM 12 28 346 12.4 77 0Team did not qualifyIFL totals 11 36 320 8.9 30 6 2 4 67 16.75 24 0CFL totals 164 645 9,277 14.4 82 58 9 35 479 13.7 49 2NFL totals 3 1 10 10.0 10 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0
References
External links
Edmonton Elks bio