Blue Bombers add defensive end to roster & Jeffcoat retiring

[ModAdmin]

Blue Bombers add defensive end to roster

WINNIPEG, MB., February 9, 2024 - The Winnipeg Blue Bombers today announce the club has signed American defensive end John Waggoner.

Waggoner (6-5, 267; Iowa; born: October 27, 1999, in Des Moines, IA) played four seasons at Iowa (2019-22), recording 65 tackles (31 solo, 34 assists), 11.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and three pass breakups in 41 games.

In his senior season, Waggoner made 34 tackles (16 solo, 18 assists), 6.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and one forced fumble in 13 games. He was a four-time Academic All-Big Ten.

[Pigskin]

I like this signing. Glad to see we are bring in some good sized DL.

[bwiser]

This could be the replacement for Jeffcoat who appears headed for free agency and would command a big salary that the Bombers may not have cap room for.

[kkc60]

This could be the replacement for Jeffcoat who appears headed for free agency and would command a big salary that the Bombers may not have cap room for.

ehhh i wouldn't go that far. we have a few DEs coming in next year. 4.5 sacks in his college career isn't promising, seems like more of a run defender with that size. could be an interesting guy to try inside and outside though.

[Pete]

Hes got good size but considerably slower than Jeffcoat (40 time 5.02) In the cfl the top ends are considerably faster. (Jeffcoat was 4.66 but could have slowed down with age)

[Jesse]

Hes got good size but considerably slower than Jeffcoat (40 time 5.02) In the cfl the top ends are considerably faster. (Jeffcoat was 4.66 but could have slowed down with age)

I'm certainly not paying any attention to random combine times from x amount of years ago.

[kkc60]

I'm certainly not paying any attention to random combine times from x amount of years ago.

that's like two years ago and without a doubt the best indicator of his speed. At over 260lbs, it's a pretty realistic numbet

[Jesse]

that's like two years ago and without a doubt the best indicator of his speed. At over 260lbs, it's a pretty realistic numbet

Ok, but in using it to compare to Jefferson (who's combines would have been many more years ago) and then you get into how relevant a 40 yard sprint is to DL effectiveness...

It's just not something that I personally pay much attention to.

[blue_gold_84]

More competition for TC if Jeffcoat moves on.

[kkc60]

Ok, but in using it to compare to Jefferson (who's combines would have been many more years ago) and then you get into how relevant a 40 yard sprint is to DL effectiveness...

It's just not something that I personally pay much attention to.

not too sure where you're getting at in regards to Jefferson. He ran a 4.73 at his combine, with the DE average being around 4.80. It's certainly not the most relevant metric to use for a lineman, but it certainly can reflect a players attributes.

[theaardvark]

Well, Jeffcoat is off the table, he has retired.

Not mad, but 'at peace': Bombers' Jeffcoat calls it a career

Paul Friesen

One year ago, after re-signing with the only CFL team he's ever known, Jackson Jeffcoat did some foreshadowing – although he didn't know it at the time.

"In negotiations, it doesn't always go the way you want," the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive end said that day. "If there comes a time when I don't feel like the respect is mutual, then we might go our separate ways."
Fast-forward a year, and that time has come.

After hearing almost nothing from the Bombers this off-season, Jeffcoat on Friday told me he's retiring from football, at age 33.

The range of emotions evident through our 20-minute conversation included surprise, disappointment, feeling disrespected, resignation and, finally, a sense of contentment and peace.
"I'm not mad," he said. "Because I have opportunities that don't involve beating my body up and getting paid for cheap, for lack of a better term. I'm pretty at peace."

It took him a while to get there, though, including one very dark day when he first realized that after 10 years as a pro and six seasons with the Bombers, it was over.

"Yesterday I was really in shock," is how he put it. "I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to move. I just wanted to sleep. I couldn't. I just tried to process it all."
It all began with silence from the Bombers.

No doubt they had bigger potential free-agent fish to fry this off-season, but Jeffcoat would have at least liked to hear something.

"I don't think it was handled right," he said. "I understand it's business, nothing personal. But in business there's communication. And there wasn't any communication, really."
Jeffcoat's agent finally heard from the Bombers just before he was about to go on a vacation to Thailand, a trip he just got back from.

By then, the free-agent negotiating window was so close, his agent told the Bombers he'd explore his options this week.

Three teams were interested. At least, for a time.

"It was a pay cut," Jeffcoat said. "But I was willing to look at the offers. One said they would compete with anybody... and then they just started dropping off."
Back in November, in his final interview at season's end, Jeffcoat had said retirement was on the table. But he'd since made the decision to keep playing.

Now, he had to reconsider.

"OK, that's a sign," he said. "When things like this seem weird and they happen, and people are like, 'He's still one of the top guys in free agency,' but teams are not showing that, then it's meant to happen."
Thursday was hell.

But Jeffcoat, who describes himself as a man of faith, had been through this before: when he wasn't drafted in the NFL, and again when, after playing nine regular-season games with Washington and getting a few looks with other teams, his NFL career ended.

Each time, he trusted in himself, dug deep and bounced back.

That led to six seasons in Canada that redefined his football career.

Fighting through frustrating injuries that cost him several games most years, he won back-to-back Grey Cups, matching the two Super Bowls his dad won with the Dallas Cowboys.

As the "other" end opposite Willie Jefferson, Jim Jeffcoat's son recorded 38 quarterback sacks in 78 regular-season games for the Bombers.

That puts him eighth on the franchise's all-time list, one more than James West – and Jefferson.
Often Jeffcoat saved his best for the playoffs: in 12 games, including four Grey Cups, he got to quarterbacks 12 more times – a higher rate, even, than his more decorated Texas teammate.

His last two sacks came in the last West Final.

Still, his critics point to his injuries. Some called him expendable.

"I put my most out there. I played hard," he said. "Anybody that says they needed to move on from Jeffcoat is crazy. I definitely feel disrespected.

"But that will go. It's not a reflection of me."

The two times Jeffcoat got his hands on the Grey Cup are the two moments he'll cherish most.

But a lot of it was a blast.

As for what he'll miss the most...

"The competitiveness," he said. "The physical aspect of it, being able to impose your will against another grown man. That was fun. Hitting quarterbacks, so much fun.

"I'll miss the team. We had some good times."
Through it all, Jeffcoat has learned he's more than just a football player, a realization first forced on him when he went undrafted.

Now a second career awaits, either in commercial real estate or insurance.

He doesn't need the game.

"I enjoyed playing the game that I love. But I want to be able to have kids one day. I want to be able to play with them. I want to make sure that I'm healthy.

"I really just trusted my gut and my heart. You know what they say – when one door closes, another one opens."

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Jeffcoat calling it quits. 

Paul Friesen
@friesensunmedia

Surprised. Disappointed. Disrespected. Done. Jackson Jeffcoat is saying goodbye to Winnipeg, to the Blue #Bombers, to football.

Details in the following Friesen article, like Harris there was a breakdown in communication.

https://winnipegsun.com/sports/football/cfl/winnipeg-bluebombers/not-mad-but-at-peace-bombers-jeffcoat-calls-it-a-career

[blue_gold_84]

Well, I was certainly not expecting THAT from him.

You're going to be missed, Jackson. Thanks for everything and all the best in your retirement.

[Ridermania]

Jeffcoat retires, solid career.

https://3downnation.com/2024/02/09/veteran-winnipeg-blue-bombers-de-jackson-jeffcoat-retires-from-cfl/

[Pigskin]

Sad to see him go, but the man's body was a wreck. I think JJ94 was making $175K last season.