Blue Bombers re-sign three players of 2021 Grey Cup team
The band is slowly getting back together in Winnipeg as the Blue Bombers re-signed three players from the 2021 Grey Cup-winning team.
The team announced on Thursday that it had reached a one-year deal with offensive lineman Jermarcus Hardrick who was scheduled to become a free agent next month.
Hardrick has been with the Bombers since 2016 and has played 98 regular-season games with the club.
"I know where home is, I know where I want to be," said Hardrick. "There was never any doubt where I wanted to be. I had never thought about free agency."
He said he was excited to get the contract done and is hoping more players from the Grey Cup will also come back so that the team can make a run for a third straight title.
Hardrick credits the coaches in Winnipeg for making him the player he is today and said he couldn't imagine leaving the Blue Bombers.
"I look at Mike O'Shea as a father figure," he said, "Just the way he approaches the details, the professionalism. He just makes you a better player. I couldn't thank Coach enough. Even when I am done playing football, just the way he approaches things, I will still do it the O'Shea way."
The Bombers also announced on Friday that they have re-signed defensive ends Willie Jefferson and Jackson Jeffcoat to one-year extensions.
Jefferson, who was an all-star this past season and the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2019, has been instrumental in helping the Bombers secure back-to-back Grey Cups.
He recorded seven sacks, 18 tackles, two interceptions, three forced fumbles and a touchdown in 2021.
This will be Jefferson's third year with the team.
Like Hardrick, Jefferson said he never thought about free agency as he was focused on returning to Winnipeg. He even plans on moving his family to Winnipeg permanently.
"We are all trying to stay. We are champs," said Jefferson. "It's not always about the money…we're all trying to be together to do something like we have been the last two years," said Jefferson.
He added the possibility of repeating as champions for a third straight season in Winnipeg was a major deciding factor in returning to the blue and gold.
"It's the team, it's the organization, it's the front office, it's the city. The city got behind me and my family as soon as I got there."
Meanwhile, Jeffcoat was also an all-star in 2021, recording nine sacks this past season. The sacks went along with four fumbles and 26 tackles.
Jeffcoat has been with the Bombers since 2017.
Jeffcoat will speak to the media on Saturday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.