On Saturday, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and defensive end Willie Jefferson agreed to a one-year contract extension through the 2023 season. The 31-year-old from Beaumont, Texas, will enter his ninth year in the CFL with 204 tackles, 57 sacks, six interceptions, five touchdowns, and 17 forced fumbles in 126 games.
This will be Jefferson’s fourth year in Winnipeg. This year, Jefferson had 33 tackles, seven sacks, one interception, one touchdown, and two forced fumbles in 18 games on his way to being named CFL West All-Star for the fifth time and the Blue Bombers’ Most Outstanding Defensive player. In addition, Jefferson became the first player in CFL history to record 50 sacks and 50 pass knockdowns
Before the CFL, Jefferson signed with the Houston Texans in 2013 as an undrafted free agent from Stephen F. Austin. He played six games with two tackles. Then, he made his CFL debut in 2014 with the Edmonton Eskimos playing two seasons with 40 tackles, ten sacks, and three forced fumbles, helping the Eskimos win the 2015 Grey Cup over the Ottawa Redblacks.
After trying out for the Washington Redskins, Jefferson returned to the CFL this time with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2016. He played three seasons in Saskatchewan (2016-18) with 88 tackles, 21 sacks, three interceptions, three touchdowns, and three forced fumbles in 41 games. As a member of the Roughriders, Jefferson was named a two-time CFL All-Star and two-time CFL West All-Star.
In 2019, Jefferson left Saskatchewan to sign with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. In three seasons in Winnipeg, Jefferson has 76 tackles, 26 sacks, four interceptions, two touchdowns, and 11 forced fumbles in 50 games. As a member of the Blue Bombers, Jefferson won two Grey Cup championships (2019, 2021), was named CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2019, two-time CFL All-Star (2019, 2021), and a three-time CFL West All-Star (2019-22).
Collegiately, Jefferson played two seasons at Baylor (2009-10) as a wide receiver with six catches for 144 yards, two touchdowns, and one tackle in 15 games before transferring to Stephen F. Austin (2011-12) and switching to defensive end with 65 tackles, 23 sacks, two interceptions, two touchdowns, six pass breakups, and six forced fumbles in 22 games.
Jefferson was selected to the Sports Network All-America second team and Phil Steele’s Magazine All-America third team during his two years with the Lumberjacks.
In 2011, Jefferson had 29 tackles, 15 sacks, two interceptions, two touchdowns, three pass breakups, and one forced fumble in 11 games on his way to being named Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year. The following season, Jefferson had 36 tackles, eight sacks, three pass breakups, and five forced fumbles in 11 games, of which he started ten of them.
