Heath joins a tough crowd

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This article was published 13/09/2016 (3368 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Even before Sunday night’s acquisition of defensive back T.J. Heath from the Toronto Argonauts, the lineup waiting to get into the Winnipeg Blue Bombers secondary was extending past the doors and around the building.

It’s a lineup that doesn’t guarantee a ticket, or that you’ll get to step foot inside at all. It’s also one where there is plenty of jockeying for position, and be darned sure — not one guy wants to be at the back of line.

“Good,” head coach Mike O’Shea said Tuesday.

O’Shea likes the depth Heath brings, and said the 29-year-old fills a need in the interior of the defensive backfield, a “light” part of the roster he said has been that way since defensive back Julian Posey went down with an injury several weeks back.

Heath gives O’Shea something to think about, along with adding to the lineup of guys hungry for their chance. It might be tough to keep him out of game action, given he’s tops in the league with five interceptions (tied with Bombers linebacker Maurice Leggett) and just clocked out of Week 12 with a CFL performer of the week nod Sunday with two interceptions, seven tackles and two pass knockdowns.

Not long after Heath put in that performance Sunday, he was called into the office and told he had been shipped to Winnipeg as part of the Bombers’ return for sending quarterback Drew Willy to the Argos.

“I actually thought it was a joke when they told me at first,” Heath said. “I was doing a few interviews. I had just got dressed. We were talking about plans because it was my birthday. All of the sudden, I thought I was about to get a pat on the back… they were telling me I was getting traded.”

Earlier this season, Heath told reporters he’d never been on a team quite like the one in Toronto, noting the camaraderie among the players. It made it all the tougher to hear the news.

“I knew I had to meet the guys in the locker room. I hit my knees and I cried a little bit,” he said. “I asked, ‘What am I supposed to tell them? It got easier as the day went on but it was a tough situation.”

Heath’s journey to Investors Group Field has been well -travelled. He’s gone from playing with quarterback Cam Newton as a member of the Carolina Panthers to pivot Matt Ryan with the Atlanta Falcons, and six other teams on top of that, looking for steady work.

After being cut by the New York Giants earlier this year, most in his spot might have thought about packing it in. But Heath knows all too well the importance of life and the game of football.

In July 2010, while a student-athlete at Jacksonville State University, Heath fell asleep at the wheel one night, leading to a single-vehicle rollover that left the former receiver in hospital with fears he might never play the game again after doctors thought he damaged his spine.

Fortunately for Heath, he made a full recovery from severe whiplash and played out his senior season that fall, this time, however, equipped with a new lease on life.

“Never give up,” Heath said. “That was a time in my life where nobody thought I’d ever be able to play football again. Once I got the opportunity to play football, I made sure I never took it for granted. I think that’s why I work so hard. You never know when the last time you might step on the field, when the last time you might take your last breath. You never know.”

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @scottbilleck

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

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