BOMBERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH JEFFERSON & JEFFCOAT

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced Friday the club has agreed to terms on a one-year contract with all-star American defensive end Willie Jefferson.

Jefferson (6-7, 252, Stephen F. Austin; born: January 31, 1991 in Beaumont, TX) returns to the Bombers after posting superb numbers in both 2019 and 2021 in helping the team capture back-to-back Grey Cup championships.

The 2022 season will be Jefferson’s third with the Bombers and eighth in the Canadian Football League.

The CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player and a league all-star in 2019 in his first year with the Bombers, Jefferson followed that up in 2021 with another berth on the CFL All-Star squad after recording seven quarterback sacks, 18 tackles, two interceptions – including one for a touchdown – and three forced fumbles as part of a historically-stingy defensive unit.

In his two years with the Bombers Jefferson has 19 sacks, three interceptions and nine forced fumbles in just 32 games. Jefferson also set a league record for defensive linemen in 2019 when he had 16 pass knockdowns.

Jefferson first came to the CFL with Edmonton in 2014 and after two years there then signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2016, spending the next three seasons there. He signed a two-year contract extension with the Bombers in February of 2020 and that deal was set to expire next month.

He has played in 108 regular-season games in his career with Winnipeg, Saskatchewan and Edmonton, recording 50 sacks while being named to the CFL All-Star team four times. He also now has three Grey Cup championships to his name, having won in 2021 and 2019 with the Blue Bombers and 2015 with Edmonton.

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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers today announce the club has agreed to terms with all-star American defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat on a one-year contract extension. Jeffcoat was scheduled to become a free agent next month.

Jeffcoat (6-3, 245, University of Texas; born: December 26, 1990 in Dallas, TX) returns to the Blue Bombers for a fifth season in 2022.

Jeffcoat racked up a career-best nine quarterback sacks this past season to lead the Blue Bombers in that department, while forcing a Canadian Football League-best four fumbles and adding 26 tackles — six behind the line of scrimmage — while also registering two pass knockdowns. He then added two more tackles, a sack and a forced fumble in the Bombers two playoff games, including the 108th Grey Cup victory in Hamilton.

His regular-season totals saw him earn spots on both the West Division and CFL All-Star teams for the first time in his career.

He now has 26 sacks and 106 tackles in 52 regular-season games with the Blue Bombers and played a critical role in the team’s back-to-back championships.

A star during his college days with the Longhorns where he was a Consensus All-American and the Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2013, Jeffcoat joined the Bombers in 2017 after stints in the NFL with Seattle, Washington and Cleveland.

(Bombers Comms)