WINNIPEG, MB., January 6, 2022- Just when you thought this week couldn’t get any better for the Blue Bombers, they drop another bomb signing all-star defensive linemen Willie Jefferson and defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat to contract extensions.
The team announced Friday, January 7, that they will be extending Jeffersons’ contract bringing him back for a third-year consecutive season with the Bombers. In his first two seasons, he made 32 appearances where he recorded 42 defensive tackles, 19 sacks, nine forced fumbles, and one touchdown.
In a press conference from his hometown in Austin Texas, Jefferson discussed what made him continue his career as a Bre Bomber saying
“No amount of money can replace that comfort you have being in Winnipeg… no amount of money can give you peace of mind.”
He then continued saying
“We’ve built something tight; we’ve built something strong in Winnipeg, It’s a family team with Yosh (Jermarcus Hardrick) and me having kids and having a family and all those other guys in the locker room in the same situation.
“You don’t want to go somewhere and try to start that all over again, introducing your kids to new kids, your family to new individuals, and then start at the bottom to build a camaraderie and chemistry. It’s already there in place and we already have a chemistry with families outside of the organization and with the community.
Six-foot-three 245lbs American defensive end and 2021 CFL All-Star Jackson Jeffcoat will also be signing a one-year extension to return for this fifth season with the blue and gold.
Jeffcoat who is from Austin, Texas has been on a hell of a ride this past month. He won his second Grey Cup Championship in December, celebrated his 31st birthday a few weeks later, and now is signing a contract extension to try for this third consecutive Grey Cup Championships.
In 2021, Jeffcoat appeared in 12 of 14 games where he set a Canadian Football League-best in sacks (four) and forced fumbles (nine) while adding 26 tackles and two pass knockdowns to resume.
Before turning pro, Jeffcoat played at the University of Texas where he was named to the Freshman All-American team, a consensus All-American and a recipient of the Ted Hendricks Award his senior year.
He began his professional career in 2014 signing with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent. He would be waved a few months later.
Shortly after, he was signed to the Washington Redskins(now known as the Washington Football Team) practice squad team where he eventually was promoted to the active roster late in the 2014 season. He record his first sack in week 16 against Mark Sanchez and then recorded his first Interception against Ton Romo the following week. Jeffcoat would be a part of the team until April of 2016 when he was waived due to injury.
The Cleveland Brown would claim him off waivers a few days later, but the relationship wouldn’t last long as he was waved by the browns in August 2016.
This lead Jeffcoat to sign with the Blue Bomber a year later, and he never looked back. In his 52 games played as Blue Bomber Jeffcoat totaled 106 defensive tackles, 26 sacks nine forced fumbles, and 1 interception in 4 Seasons.
