Bombers’ defensive leader Westerman out for year

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This article was published 19/09/2017 (2938 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jamaal Westerman, one of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ best defensive players and leaders in the locker room, will miss the remainder of the 2017 CFL season with an upper-body injury, the team announced Tuesday afternoon.

The news broke shortly after practice. It also came just after head coach Mike O’Shea seemed flummoxed when asked to assess the health of his veteran defensive end.

“We’re still… there’s a couple things to talk about this afternoon, so we’ll have a much clearer picture later today I’m sure,” O’Shea said. “Any time you’re dealing with a player and something that is holding him out of practice, you’ve got to find out all the facts, right? You have to do what’s best for the player and have those conversations and get information. That doesn’t seem complicated to me — it seems like the regular process.”

The result remains a damaging one for an 8-3 squad that has been relatively healthy to date. The Bombers have just one other player on their injury list, with linebacker Ian Wild still weeks from returning from a broken wrist.

Losing a Canadian starter on the defensive line will cause ratio problems for the Blue Bombers and it’s a development that could heat up talks with free-agent defender Andy Mulumba.

Mulumba was Winnipeg’s No. 2 overall pick in the 2013 CFL Draft but the 27-year-old has spent the last four seasons in the NFL, including three with the Green Bay Packers.

Mulumba, released earlier this month by the Los Angeles Rams, would prefer to stay in the NFL but his agent, Tom Tafelski, said Monday night he had been in contact with Bombers GM Kyle Walters. Talks had not progressed, said Tafelski, but “we’ve had conversations” and Winnipeg’s interest might improve in the wake of Westerman’s injury.

Mulumba, a 6-3, 260-pounder, was a linebacker in the NFL but he is the prototypical size for a CFL defensive end.

The Bombers posted a full story on Westerman and his injury shortly after the announcement. The injury occurred during the team’s win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Sept. 9.

“It’s always disappointing when something like this happens,” said Westerman.

Westerman said he knew something wasn’t right after speaking with trainers following the game. With the Bombers on a bye week, he figured he could use the added time to heal up but as the days went by the pain stuck around. After a series of tests were conducted Tuesday, the decision was made to call it a season.

It’s the first time in three years with the Bombers that Westerman will be forced out of the lineup. He leaves a big hole to fill, both in production and in terms of the ratio. The 32-year-old non-import is currently second in the CFL with seven quarterback sacks, anchoring a defensive line that underwent a major overhaul in the off-season.

When the Bombers returned to practice this week, it was Jackson Jeffcoat working in Westerman’s spot. Opposite him, where Jeffcoat has started all 11 games, was import Tristan Okpalaugo, one of the team’s key signings in 2017. Other options include non-import Trent Corney and import Shayon Green, who has spent the year on the practice roster.

What’s most likely to happen is Jeffcoat and Okpalaugo will bookend the defensive line, while non-import Jake Thomas will start at defensive tackle. The other Canadians to fill out the ratio include safety Taylor Loffler, middle linebacker Sam Hurl, running back Andrew Harris, receiver Julian Feoli-Gudino and offensive linemen Sukh Chungh and Matthias Goossen.

The Bombers get their first taste of life without Westerman, who is scheduled to address the media today after practice, when they host the Ottawa Redblacks at Investors Group Field on Friday night.

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

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