The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are saying goodbye to long-time lockdown cornerback Delvin Breaux Sr.
The 31-year-old native of New Orleans announced his retirement Wednesday after he spent five seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Ticats (2013-14, 2018-20) and played three years with the National Football League‘s New Orleans Saints (2015-2017).
After he signed to play college football with the Louisiana State University Tigers in 2007, Breaux suffered a neck injury in which he fractured three vertebrae during a high school prep game.
As a result of his injuries, he acted solely as a player-coach during his tenure with LSU.
“I just want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to make my journey pass through Hamilton, Ontario,” said Breaux. “I pursued this dream because I wanted to show each and every individual that there is hope inside that no one can ever take away from you when you believe in yourself. I want to thank my dad and my moms for raising me to be a tough son of a gun: ‘built Breaux tough!'”
In 49 career games with Hamilton, Breaux made 110 defensive tackles, one sack, two interceptions, 16 pass knockdowns, six forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries and two touchdowns (one interception return, one fumble return).
“It is extremely rare when you find a DB that possesses size, strength, speed, aggressiveness, competitiveness and confidence,” said Orlondo Steinauer, head coach of the Tiger-Cats. “Offences changed the way they game-planned knowing that #24 was manning the boundary. Delvin was one of the most dominant CFL corners of his era, and considering what he overcame early in his playing career, it makes his accomplishments at the professional level more than remarkable.”
Breaux played in three Grey Cups (2013, ’14 and ’19) and was named a CFL all-star in 2014 and 2018).
He was an East Division All-Star three times (2014, ’18 and ’19) and was named to the CFL’s First All-Decade Team in November 2020.
Breaux appeared in 22 NFL games and recorded 64 tackles, 20 passes defended, three interceptions and one fumble recovery.
He was the Saints’ 2015 recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award presented to select players in the NFL who are voted by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship and courage.
“I want to thank my coaches and the organizations I was a part of for not just teaching me about the game, but more importantly about life itself,” said Breaux. “I want to thank my brothers (teammates) for everything from showing me the way to enjoy the game without being serious 24/7, to playing with a smile on my face while I jam and beat wideouts up in the boundary.
“And finally, I want to thank the fans for bringing me in and accepting a Nola Bread kid for life. In Hamilton, you all supported me when I had no family or friends in town for the games and made me feel like I was at home and loved, so thank you! I know it’s just a dot on my timeline but it was a huge dot because of everything I dealt with early in my playing career. Until next time, BREAUXSHOW, out.”
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