Jefferson finds time to shine

For the first time in his illustrious career, Willie Jefferson might just be underrated.

It wasn’t that long ago when the Blue Bombers defensive end was viewed as one of the very best players in the three-down loop. Now at 35 and coming off a down year where he had a career-low three sacks, there was a lot of chatter in the off-season about how Jefferson might’ve lost a step or two.

“I heard it. I put it somewhere on that shelf, so when I need a little bit of motivation, I can go get it,” said the six-time CFL all-star after Monday’s practice.

“You can look at the tape from last year. I only had three sacks, but I’m pretty sure I missed a bunch. I was able to get into the backfield, I was able to win on one-on-ones, I was able to beat double teams, I was able to do all this stuff to get to the quarterback and apply pressure — I just wasn’t able to finish like how I wanted to. That’s something I was hard on myself about this off-season.

“I’m just trying to come back and be better in ’26.”

In 2025, he was ranked 12th in the CFL on TSN’s annual top 50 players list. This season, Jefferson’s name was nowhere to be found.

While there’s still a lot of football to be played, the Beaumont, Texas product made voters look silly on Saturday at McMahon Stadium in a season-opening 30-28 victory over the Calgary Stampeders. He was one of the best players on the field with two pass knockdowns, two tackles and a clutch sack in the fourth that forced the Stamps to punt.

“I think it’s not unusual to see older pass rushers have success. And then you take into account how well he takes care of his body and how serious he is about his off-season conditioning and coming into camp prepared, I just trust him,” said defensive co-ordinator Jordan Younger.

“I understood that he was still playing at a high level last year, and a lot of the decline in the statistics was scheme related not necessarily talent related.”

Jefferson now has 96 career pass knockdowns which puts him in second all time behind Canadian Football Hall of Fame defensive back Eddie Davis, who retired with 111. He’ll try to add to his total Thursday when the Bombers host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (0-1) for their home opener (7:30 p.m. kickoff).

As of Monday afternoon, the Bombers were 1,500 tickets short of a sell-out.

“It feels really good to see the joy come out of the quarterback (after a knockdown). He thinks he has the check down for the first down with a wide receiver wide open and then I just knock it down or catch it,” said Jefferson. “And then you just see them go like ‘Ugh.’”

It also doesn’t hurt Jefferson’s cause that his job has gotten a whole lot easier now with Jake Ceresna suiting up beside him. Ceresna put the league on notice in his blue and gold debut with an incredible three-sack performance — the first of his eight-year career.

“Listen, you get the information about the signing of Ceresna, and then I think there’s controlled optimism. Just understanding that if the moon and the stars line up the right way and we can stay healthy, they’ll have an oppotunity to be really, really disruptive,” said Younger.

“And their ability to compliment each other is what I was most excited for because they’ll bring out the best in each other.”

The last time a Winnipeg player recorded three sacks in a game was Aug. 23, 2019, at Edmonton by — you guessed it — Jefferson.

“We were in the CFLPA together for a couple years and I had seen Jake’s work ethic when we were at our AGMs. He was always in the gym working out,” said first-year defensive line coach Jake Thomas.

“After the game, I asked him how it went and he’s like ‘You know, there’s still a few plays that I left out there.’ He’s never satisfied and I think that’s contributed to him being better every year he’s been in the league. This week, I said ‘How ya doing?’ And he’s like ‘That was last week’s news.’ He has that mindset where him getting three sacks last week doesn’t overly mean too much to him a day later.”

For the first time since Jackson Jeffcoat retired, Jefferson has a legitimate tag-team partner that will keep opposing quarterbacks up at night.

“It’s different. It does feel good to know you have somebody else that can make plays at any given time,” said Jefferson. “I’m just excited to have somebody like Jake on the line that’s experienced, knows how to make plays, knows how to finish plays.”

OUCH REPORT

LB Jaiden Woodbey (calf), C Tui Eli (ankle), DL De’Shaan Dixon (hamstring) and DB Major Williams (hip) did not participate in practice on Monday.

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