Veteran tackle re-ups with the Bombers

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This article was published 24/05/2018 (2689 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Blue Bombers welcomed Jake Thomas, their longest-tenured player, back into the fold Wednesday morning less than a day after the 27-year-old free agent defensive tackle ended a lengthy contract stalemate.

Thomas, who begins his seventh season in Winnipeg after being chosen with the 29th pick in the 2012 CFL Draft, had a career-high 21 tackles and four sacks in 2017.

“I guess it’s kinda like summer vacation when you’re in school and you come back and you haven’t seen your friends in a while,” said Thomas, who did not participate in Wednesday’s training camp workout at Investors Group Field. “I’m just happy to be back. It’s a great group of guys and I’m excited to get to work.”

Thomas and the Blue Bombers remained in touch throughout the off-season before finally coming to a contract agreement. Terms of the deal were not released.

“I figured it was eventually going to happen,” said Thomas, who spends his winters in Fredericton. “It was just a waiting game. I figured I could miss a couple of days of camp, I didn’t think it was going anywhere. The season starts a week earlier now, so I just wanted to spend a long weekend with my wife.”

Thomas’ return was a popular development with his teammates and the Winnipeg coaches.

“It’s big for our team,” Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said. “You see by the reaction when he steps on the field and guys’ faces are lighting up and he breaks the team down after. It’s an important addition, that’s for sure.”

Did he consider signing elsewhere?

“First, I tried to exhaust all my NFL opportunities,” Thomas joked. “That didn’t happen. I was going to make the switch to fullback. No, I fielded a few offers but for me, being at this point in my career, I wasn’t going to sign anywhere that I didn’t feel was a good fit for me. And I think deep down I always wanted to come back to Winnipeg.”

Thomas has long been a dependable player and highly regarded teammate with 75 defensive tackles and 10 sacks in 101 career games, including 25 starts.

“I heard the best two abilities when I first started pro football were accountability and durability,” Thomas said. “You see a lot of great guys come through and unfortunately, they get hurt or can’t really learn the playbook, so I kind of prided myself on trying to stay as healthy as possible and if any of my teammates have a question, try to give them the best answer possible.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @sawa14