Willie Jefferson

Willie Hebert Jefferson III (born January 31, 1991) is an American professional football defensive end for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Jefferson started his college football career as a wide receiver for the Baylor Bears in 2009 and moved to tight end for the 2010 season.

However, he was dismissed from the team in October 2010 after he and teammate Josh Gordon were found asleep in Jefferson's car at a local Taco Bell with marijuana in the car.

Jefferson, who was driving, was kicked off the team due to it being his second violation.

He recorded one defensive tackle as the Eskimos defeated the Ottawa Redblacks in the 103rd Grey Cup.

In the following off-season, Jefferson was granted an early release in order to pursue NFL opportunities.

Jefferson's strong play in the playoffs, together with his fellow defensive linemen Jackson Jeffcoat, Drake Nevis, and Jake Thomas saw the Bombers defence control the games against the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders, to lead the Bombers to the 107th Grey Cup.

In the 107th Grey Cup game, Jefferson had two tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles, with a dominant performance that saw the Bombers end their 29-year Grey Cup drought.

Jefferson transferred to Stephen F. Austin University to play for the Lumberjacks and was named 2011 Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year in his Junior season.

He led the Southland Conference in sacks with 16.

He was selected to the Sports Network All-America second team, Phil Steele's Magazine All-America third team.

On April 27, 2013, Jefferson signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent following the 2013 NFL Draft.

He appeared in six games for the Texans before being released on October 21, 2013, for unspecified violations of team rules prior to a game in Kansas City.

After sitting out the remainder of the 2013 NFL season, Jefferson signed a reserve/future contract with the Buffalo Bills on January 16, 2014.

However, he was released less than two months later on March 3, 2014.

On April 3, 2014, Jefferson signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

In his first CFL season, he played in 17 regular season games, starting in 10, here he had 19 defensive tackles, four sacks, six pass knockdowns, one fumble recovery, and one blocked kick.

He also made his post-season debut as he played in two playoff games where he had one defensive tackle.

Jefferson is a three-time Grey Cup champion, winning with the Edmonton Eskimos in 2015 and twice more with the Blue Bombers in 2019 and 2021.

In 2015, Jefferson played in all 18 regular season games, starting in six, where he had 24 defensive tackles, six sacks, four pass knockdowns, and three forced fumbles.

After playing in the team's West Final victory over the Calgary Stampeders, he played in his first Grey Cup championship game.

Jefferson signed a futures contract with the Washington Redskins on January 14, 2016.

On August 27, 2016, Jefferson was waived by the Redskins.

On September 28, 2016, Jefferson returned to the CFL and signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, rejoining his former head coach from Edmonton, Chris Jones.

He played in the final five games of the 2016 season, where he had eight defensive tackles and three sacks.

Jefferson was named a CFL All-Star in 2017 after he played and started in all 18 regular season games and had a career-high 45 defensive tackles along with eight sacks, six knockdowns, and one fumble recovery for a touchdown.

In 2018, he was nominated as the team's Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player after recording his first season with double digit sacks and a pair of interceptions returned for touchdowns.

For his strong season, Jefferson was again named to the CFL All-Star Team alongside teammate Charleston Hughes.

He was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2019 with the Bombers, and is a five-time CFL All-Star and six-time CFL West All-Star.

He has also been a member of the Houston Texans, Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins, and Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Jefferson played college football for the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks and the Baylor Bears.

Jefferson attended Ozen High School.

He was selected to the 4A all-state second-team in his senior year in high school.

He was selected to the First-team All-District 20-4 and Port Arthur News Super Team while at high school.

He became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 12, 2019.

On February 12, 2019, it was announced that Jefferson had signed a one-year deal with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers through the 2019 season.

Jefferson felt the Roughriders' offer did not match his market value; he was also courted by the Toronto Argonauts, but signed with the Blue Bombers for $210,000 CND.

Jefferson's most notable performance came against Edmonton, where he recorded four tackles (two for a loss), three sacks, two forced fumbles, recovered another fumble, knocked down two passes, recovered an onside kick attempt, and scored a rouge when he kicked a fumble through the endzone.

By season's end, Jefferson played in all 18 games and made 25 defensive tackles and caught an interception; he also set new career highs for sacks and forced fumbles, with 12 and six respectively.

He also set the CFL record for a defensive lineman with 16 pass knockdowns.