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

Early life Jefferson attended Ozen High School. He was selected to the 4A all-state second-team in his senior year in high school. 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.

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.

Houston Texans 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.

Buffalo Bills 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. 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.

Washington Redskins Jefferson signed a futures contract with the Washington Redskins on January 14, 2016. On August 27, 2016, Jefferson was waived by the Redskins.

Saskatchewan Roughriders 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. For his strong season, Jefferson was again named to the CFL All-Star Team alongside teammate Charleston Hughes. He became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 12, 2019.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers 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'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. 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. After the game he said that, "I just had to come out here and give it my all. I had my dad, my mom, my wife and my daughter. I couldn't come out here and play a mediocre game in front of my family." For the second consecutive year, Jefferson was nominated as both Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player for his team, where he ultimately won the CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award for his performance over the course of the 2019 CFL season.

After the 2019 season, Jefferson had a tryout with the Miami Dolphins which had gone well and he turned down other NFL tryouts. However, prior to the 2020 season, Jefferson signed a two-year contract extension, keeping him in Winnipeg through the 2021 season at approximately $265,000 a year. Unfortunately, the 2020 CFL season was cancelled as a result of the pandemic but Jefferson returned to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for the 2021 season.

Jefferson would help the Blue Bombers thrive in their title defending season in 2021. Winnipeg finished the season with the best record in the CFL and Jefferson and the Bombers defence led the league in fewest yards and points allowed. He finished the season with seven sacks, 18 tackles, three forced fumbles, and two interceptions with one of those returned for a touchdown. The Bombers would defeat the Roughriders in the West Final to go to the 108th Grey Cup and defend their title. In the 2021 Grey Cup final game, Jefferson and the Blue Bombers top-rated defensive unit helped the team to their 12th Grey Cup title, and second in a row, defeating the hometown Hamilton Tiger-Cats in overtime, by a score of 33–25. After the extra time win, Jefferson said that "We're behind enemy lines, fans on our backs, city against us and we had to come out here and show these guys who we are. If it had to go into overtime to do that, that’s where we did it. It was tense, but we just had to stick it out. I had no doubt at all."

Jefferson continued his stellar play in the 2022 CFL season, contributing with 33 defensive tackles, seven sacks, two forced fumbles, one interception and one touchdown.

In 2023, Jefferson played and started in 17 regular season games where he recorded 21 defensive tackles, 11 sacks, a league-leading 13 pass knockdowns, and three forced fumbles. On December 4, 2023, Jefferson signed another one-year contract extension with the Blue Bombers.

Statistics CFL Legend* Led the league≈ Won the Grey Cup± Grey Cup MVP Bold Career high