Bombers re-sign Willie Jefferson

blue_or_die · January 22, 2026, 06:56:08 PM

Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on January 22, 2026, 06:45:11 PMSpeaking of beef, look at the size difference Willie has to deal with every play...and sometimes there are 2 large bodies in his way.

You mean the same matchup in all football? A larger but shifty end vs a tackle, the heaviest position in football?

Any reports of $$? I'm all for this signing but not at a premium salary. He should be there for leadership, as a team ambassador, and in for situations, but otherwise should be rotated and grandfathered out of a primary role. Love the guy and happy he's staying here but we need to use him correctly and pay him accordingly.

Blueforlife · January 22, 2026, 07:05:43 PM

He has been rotating for years already. He is still good enough to take a lot of reps. He has evolved the way he impacts a game which is still can be significant, just not as often. Agree on leadership, mentor role but don't count him out yet. Still a little gas in the tank. Needs assistance for others. Would help him get more sacks but I am fine with that by committee.

VictorRomano · January 22, 2026, 07:44:34 PM

Quote from: Pete on January 22, 2026, 05:51:21 PMThe dline has been identified by many here , and rightly so, as an area of weakness ly, re-signing the same old crew isn't going to help that. In order to sign an impact dl (maybe ceresna?) I am more than fine with going with a starter rookie de such as Jenkins and Jaworski. Vaughters will be 33 this season. We could go with either Jefferson or Vaughters but not both.

I've said before we should make a hard run at Ceresna.

TBURGESS · January 22, 2026, 07:53:31 PM

Willy was one of the guys I hoped we'd move on from. He used to get 3 sacks a game, he's down to 3 sacks a season.

Sir Blue and Gold · January 22, 2026, 08:04:27 PM

For fans like us, this is why salary disclosure would be good.

This move is somewhere been horrible and possibly passable depending on percentage of sms.

Definitely don't love it though.

gobombersgo · January 22, 2026, 08:42:49 PM

Quote from: Sir Blue and Gold on January 22, 2026, 08:04:27 PMFor fans like us, this is why salary disclosure would be good.

This move is somewhere been horrible and possibly passable depending on percentage of sms.

Definitely don't love it though.

We will find out from 3DownNation soon enough if he is one of the top 10 paid Dlinemen in the league.

If he is not listed at least we will know what the maximum he will be making.

Works for me.

Waffler · January 22, 2026, 08:48:56 PM

It's a mistake to think Willie can't play based on sack totals. It is the Younger defense keeping sacks low across the board. We need to rush a linebacker or DB on a more regular basis. As it is QB's have all day against our predictable 3 man rush. I see that we have been signing larger DB's this off season so maybe there is a willingness to change. I sure hope so.

Ducky · January 22, 2026, 08:58:21 PM

Quote from: TBURGESS on January 22, 2026, 07:53:31 PMWilly was one of the guys I hoped we'd move on from. He used to get 3 sacks a game, he's down to 3 sacks a season.

Me too. He is simply not an every down guy anymore. He was walking and not engaged way too often last year.

Blueforlife · January 22, 2026, 10:24:57 PM

You don't improve your DL by deleting an all time great. He will be good this year but don't expect the huge sack #s. More than one way to impact a game. I believe a year or two ago was near the top in distruptions, I remember the stat from TSN.

TBURGESS · January 22, 2026, 11:09:15 PM

You don't improve anything by retaining guys well past their prime.

theaardvark · January 22, 2026, 11:26:56 PM

Quote from: TBURGESS on January 22, 2026, 11:09:15 PMYou don't improve anything by retaining guys well past their prime.

There are some players who are better past their prime than other players ever will be.

There is a large difference between past their prime, and past their best before date...

Pete · January 22, 2026, 11:51:25 PM

Quote from: gobombersgo on January 22, 2026, 08:42:49 PMWe will find out from 3DownNation soon enough if he is one of the top 10 paid Dlinemen in the league.

If he is not listed at least we will know what the maximum he will be making.

Works for me.

the reason we may have signed him even at a similar cap hit to ly is that there may well not be any viable alternatives in free agency, really the main guys left are Carney and Ceresna even if they are still available you have to know it will be a bidding war which we are not likely to participate in. The possibility to replace him with a rookie is also a long shot as weve benn unable to even replace Jeffcoat adequately since he left.
It may have also come down to who they thought would be more valuable to the team Jefferson or Vaughters.
(does anyone know if Ceresna is even gonna be healthy by training camp?)