In the continuing search to help shore up their pass rush, the Patriots have reached agreements with a pair of CFL pass rushers over the last week, agreeing to deals with Armond Armstead and Jason Vega.

•The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Armstead, a USC product, was a three-year star for the Trojans in college. After a junior year spent at defensive end — where he had 43 tackles, six of which were for a loss (three sacks) — he was set to open his senior year at defensive tackle, but suffered a heart attack before his senior season and was never cleared to practice. As a result, the 22-year-old went undrafted last spring, and ended up with Toronto of the CFL, where he had six sacks to help the Argonauts to a Grey Cup championship. (Armstead was recently released by the Argonauts after informing them of his desire to play in the NFL.) 

•The 25-year-old Vega, a Brockton native who checks in at 6-foot-4 and 256 pounds, projects to be either a defensive end or outside linebacker at the NFL level. Vega recorded 12 sacks over the past two seasons for Winnipeg. As a collegian at Northeastern, he finished with 41 sacks over four seasons. According to one NFL scout, who spoke with Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe, Vega compares with Patriots edge rusher Rob Ninkovich.

The Canadian Football League has served as an occasional pipeline for talent to the NFL for players who might have missed out the first time around. Quarterbacks Doug Flutie, Warren Moon, Jeff Garcia and Joe Theismann honed their skills in the CFL before making it in the NFL. Lately, defensive end Cameron Wake went undrafted in 2005, but became a star in Canada with the BC Lions (he had a combined 40 sacks in 2007 and 2008) before signing with the Dolphins. He would become an All-Pro, coming away with 15 sacks this past season. Last spring, the 6-foot-3, 258-pounder signed a four-year extension with Miami reportedly worth $49 million, with $20 million guaranteed.

This isn’t the first time New England has kicked the tires on a possible CFL import -- in 2010, they took a serious look at CFL defensive end Ricky Foley, a pass rusher who had 20 sacks in four years with British Columbia Lions. While no one is quite sure what sort of financial layout the Patriots are going to make to acquire Vega, it appears they’ve decided on making a serious investment in Armstead -- according to NFLPA documents, the former USC pass rusher has a three-year deal with the Patriots worth $1.485 million, which includes base salaries of $405,000 in 2013, $495,000 in 2014 and $585,000 in 2015. That contract means there was some competition to sign him -- some say Armstead is a first-round talent -- and is also a sign that Armstead isn’t the sort of player who they anticipate spending a lot of time on the sidelines.

On the surface, it seems like a no-brainer, particularly for a team that is used to looking for talent in unlikely places. Best-case scenario? You have the next Wake, a game-changing pass rusher who can provide a jolt for a team that (still) desperately needs one. Worst case? We’re all laughing about this by the end of the first week of training camp.

But if you’re looking for pass rushers up north, why stop at Armstead and Vega? If the Patriots are interested in raiding the CFL for more talent, here’s a look at three other possibilities who could be imported from north of the border.

•Keron Williams. A 28-year-old defensive end who has 23 sacks the last two seasons for British Columbia (including a league-leading 12 this past season), the 6-foot-1, 260-pounder is like Vega in the sense that he has local ties -- he went to UMass. He’s been a part of two Grey Cup champions (Montreal in 2009 and British Columbia in 2011), and has 52 career sacks in seven seasons in the CFL. He’s 6-foot-1 and 260 pounds, which means he’d probably project to outside linebacker/defensive end if he wants a shot in the NFL.

•Charleston Hughes. The 29-year-old was signed as a street free agent by Calgary in 2008, and the 6-foot-1, 244-pounder had 11 sacks this past season, second to Williams. Hughes had a brief stop with the Eagles -- he was one of their final cuts at the end of camp in 2009, and was released because of a nagging toe injury. With Calgary, he’s had 25 sacks over the last three seasons. Listed as a linebacker in his brief stopover with the Eagles, he’d probably be an OLB at the NFL level.

•Alex Hall. One of the most intriguing possibilities the CFL has when it comes to pass rushing prospects, the 6-foot-6, 246-pound Hall has spent a lot of time in the NFL for someone who is only 27. Taken out of St. Augustine College in the seventh round of the 2008 draft by the Browns, the edge-rushing defensive end/outside linebacker has also been with the Eagles and Cardinals, as well as two different stints with the Giants. (The Steelers also kicked the tires on Hall at the end of the 2010 season.) In his one full season in the CFL last season, the long, lean pass rusher ended up with nine sacks as a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.