The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have re-signed veteran defensive end Willie Jefferson through 2026. He was previously slated to become a free agent on February 10.
The soon-to-be 35-year-old returns for his 12th season in the Canadian Football League and seventh with the Blue Bombers. He previously made stops with Edmonton (2014-15) and Saskatchewan (2016-18).
Jefferson played 17 games in 2025, registering 15 defensive tackles, three quarterback sacks, one forced fumble, and a league-best 16 pass knockdowns. That tied his own franchise record for batted passes set in 2019, and was the third most in CFL history behind Malcolm Frank (Sacramento, 1994) and Adrion Smith (Toronto, 1996), both of whom registered 18 in a season.
A six-time CFL all-star, Jefferson was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2019. In 178 career games, he has produced 267 defensive tackles, 77 sacks, six interceptions, 22 forced fumbles, and 94 knockdowns, which ranks second all-time only to Eddie Davis (Birmingham, Calgary, Saskatchewan, 1995-2009) with 111. His 46 sacks since joining the Bombers in 2019 place him fifth all-time in franchise history behind Tyrone Jones (98), Tony Norman (59), Doug Brown (52) and Elfrid Payton and Gavin Walls (both with 47).
A three-time Grey Cup champion, Jefferson has also been the recipient of both the Ed Kotowich ‘Good Guy Award’ (2022) and the Cal Murphy ‘Heart of a Legend’ Award (2023) for his work off the field.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers finished fourth in the West Division standings in 2025 with a 10-8 record, qualifying for the playoffs as the crossover team before losing the East Semi-Final to the Montreal Alouettes. Zach Collaros threw for 3,048 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions over 13 regular-season games, going 6-7 as a starter.
The Blue Bombers ranked fifth in net offence, third in net defence, and eighth with a turnover differential of minus-eleven. The club’s leading rusher was Brady Oliveira with 1,163 yards, the leading receiver was Nic Demski with 1,001 yards, and the leading tackler was Tony Jones with 104 tackles. Winnipeg ranked first in attendance with average crowds of 32,343, which was a 3.7 percent increase from the previous year.
