The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have their one-two punch back under contract for the 2021 season.
The Bombers announced defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat signed a one-year contract on Friday, and with Willie Jefferson also signed for next season, the Bombers ferocious defensive end tandem will once again be terrorizing opposing quarterbacks.
Jeffcoat, 30, was set to become a free agent next month. Next season will be his fourth in the blue and gold after originally joining the club in 2017. He’s been training in Muay Thai and boxing to improve his hand skills.
“The goal is to play every game this year, and be able to be healthy,” Jeffcoat said. “And prove I can be one of those elite guys in the league.”
Jeffcoat was diagnosed with COVID-19 back in the fall. His father, former Dallas Cowboys great Jim Jeffcoat, grandfather, and aunt also came down with the coronavirus. But all have since completely recovered.
“None of us were hospitalized,” he said. “Shoot, my grandfather, who’s dang near 90 was asymptomatic. Yeah, it was crazy. And me and my father kinda had flu like symptoms along with my aunt. It lasted about four days and then it started to get better. But not everybody gets it like that, and we were blessed.
“Very luck to not have very bad symptoms, and it’s just sad to see that so many people are dying from this virus.”
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An injury limited him to just 12 games in the 2019 campaign, but he still had five sacks, 23 tackles, and two forced fumbles.
Jeffcoat was really a force to be reckoned with in the Grey Cup game where he recorded four tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble in helping the Bombers capture the championship.
But Jeffcoat admitted while the CFL season was cancelled, he considered retirement.
“I definitely floated with the idea,” Jeffcoat said via conference call. “I got my real estate license, have been interviewing with different brokerages out here in Austin. And I talked to some and they were like “man, if you still have the passion to play, go play. Real estate will be here.”
Jefferson lives right nearby and the two have been training together.
“We both have had time to get together and we’ll have a lot more time to workout together,” he said. “I think we’ll be able to take it to the next level. And we really are starting to get to know each other even better as far as on the field, and off the field. So it will help with us playing together on the field.
“Us playing together – we want to be unstoppable.”
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It’s now been almost 14 months since he last played a game and Jeffcoat looks forward to getting back in the locker room.
“I miss being together with my guys,” said Jeffcoat. “I miss hanging out with the guys. To chat, talk crap, work out together, have meals together, and just all working for a common goal. And being able to have brothers on your side that know what you’re going through.”
He was one of four players who agreed to a new deal on Friday. Offensive lineman Geoff Gray, linebacker Shayne Gauthier, and linebacker Tobi Antigha also signed one-year deals.
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