The Boatmen are running it back with Kicker Boris Bede for the 2023 season. The Toronto Argonauts announced Saturday afternoon that the team had re-signed the veteran CFL kicker.
Bede is the third player re-signing by the Argos in the last 24 hours. The team re-upped superstar WR Kurleigh Gittens to a new three-year contract and a two-year pact with starting safety Royce Methcie on Friday. The Bede signing comes a day before the negotiation window opens for pending free agents. Toronto’s pending FA list has now been whittled down to 17 players. It started at 26.
Boris Bede Returns For Another Year With The Boatmen
Boris Bede is coming back for a third season in the Six. The do-it-all specialist has been a fan favorite for Double Blue since joining the team through a trade with Montreal. Bede, 33, has arguably the strongest leg in Canada and has provided some of the team’s most exciting game-deciding moments the last two seasons.
The two-time All-Star is the CFL’s all-time leader in kickoff average. (68.7% in 2022). And serves as Double Blue’s sometimes punter, if needed.
There’s a chance that the Argonauts could add some competition in camp for the long-standing veteran. But coordinator Mickey Donovan and the Argonauts brass fully realize Bede’s boom or bust capabilities. And for better or worse, they are willing to ride with their talented specialist for another year.
The Grey Cup Champion Argos remain active, keeping their championship core intact. By the time the smoke clears on Valentine’s Day, the open of CFL free agency. It will be interesting to see how many of the Boatmen’s top sailors are back on the ship. Don’t blink.
BOATMEN KEEP THE SIGNINGS COMING; RETAIN K BORIS BEDE
TORONTO – The Toronto Argonauts Football Club announced today the team had re-signed American K Boris Bede through 2023.
Bede, 33, converted a career-high 43 field goals in 2022, his second season with the Argos, and added three more during a Grey Cup victory in late November. The kicker, born in France but went to school at Laval, kicked a career-long 56-yard field goal in August, which was also the second-longest field goal in Double Blue history. Bede also added his name to Toronto’s record books in 2022 with a 100-yard kickoff, which he accomplished twice last season. The league’s all-time leader in kickoff average once again led the league in that same category with a 68.7-yard average. The 6’4, 225lb kicker is a seven-year CFL veteran and two-time East Division All-Star after spending 2015-2019 with the Montreal Alouettes and has booted 212 field goals through the uprights in 111 regular-season games.