On Wednesday morning, the Edmonton Eskimos were hit with some very surprising news as veteran linebacker J.C. Sherritt announced his retirement from professional football after eight seasons in the CFL.
The product from Eastern Washington played his first season with the Eskimos back in the 2011 season, where he recorded 11 defensive tackles in his CFL debut in a win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Sherritt would finish the season with 68 defensive tackles, three quarterback sacks and three forced fumbles. He was named the team’s Most Outstanding Rookie.
In 2012, Sherritt set the CFL record for defensive tackles in a season with 130 and was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player. Sherritt was also named a CFL Western Division and league All-Star that season.
He helped the Eskimos win their 14th Grey Cup championship in franchise history in 2015 in a 26-20 win over the Ottawa Redblacks in the Grey Cup game in Winnipeg.
Listen below: Eskimos GM and V-P of Football Operations Brock Sunderland reacts to the retirement of J.C. Sherritt
In 2017, Sherritt’s season was cut short when he ruptured his Achilles in the Eskimos season opener in Vancouver against the B.C. Lions. He would miss the entire season but would make a full recovery in time for the practice week ahead of the Western Final in Calgary despite not playing in the game.
In 2018, Sherritt enjoyed a comeback season by recording a team-leading 114 defensive plays, good for fourth in the CFL. His 100 defensive tackles led the Eskimos, and sat fifth in the league. Sherrit was named as the Eskimos Most Oustanding Defensive Player.
In his eight seasons, Sherritt played 109 games and recorded 507 defensive tackles, leaving him fourth on the Eskimos all-time list.
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