Bombers have a handle on Randle

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This article was published 19/01/2018 (3137 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He was one of the best players on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers during the 2017 CFL season. Coming off the type of year he had, Chris Randle could have waited just a few more weeks to test the open market, a gamble that likely would have led him to a large sum for his services.

But as the Bombers begin to put the final pieces together ahead of CFL free agency on Feb. 13, they announced the all-star cornerback would continue to play a big part of the team’s future. Randle, 29, signed a two-year extension with the Bombers on Friday, a deal that will see him in Blue and Gold through the 2019 season.

“I see myself establishing myself in Winnipeg,” Randle said in a telephone conference with local reporters. “I like it there. I like the environment we have there. I think we’re going to continue on building something great.”

Randle is coming off the best of his six seasons in the CFL. In 2017, he was named the team’s most outstanding defensive player, finishing the year with 60 tackles, one sack and a career-high five interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. He also returned a fumble for a score.

“Simply put, Chris Randle was one of those players that we knew we needed to work something out with prior to Feb. 13,” general manager Kyle Walters said in a statement.

“He is a leader in everything he does. He’s coming off the best season of his career and we’re looking forward to more of that in 2018. He’s a special player and an invaluable asset to our locker room, and I’m glad we were able to retain him.”

Randle has credited his recent success with the Bombers to a healthy off-season, leading into last year’s campaign. He tore an ACL in 2015 and required season-ending knee surgery. He spent much of that off-season working his way back, spending most of that valuable time rehabilitating rather than working out to get stronger.

That wasn’t the case in the months leading up to the 2017 season, with Randle, in full health, spending winter months testing his body to reach new limits, while also travelling the world with his wife, Kylie. In a good place mentally and physically, Randle said he could focus on being the best person he could both be, on the field and off it. It paid off as he was named an all-star for the first time last season.

Now he’s faced with even more excitement as he and his wife welcomed their first child, Winston. It’s good to be busy, Randle insisted, while also once again working hard to be even better in 2018.

“That’s the goal and that’s my job. I got to get better and continue to work on my craft and find ways to be ahead of the curve,” Randle said. “Longevity is the only obstacle in this game where either you can get it or you can’t. So you got to find ways to maintain your play and your IQ — everything has got to keep going.”

The Bombers can only hope that Randle can meet the lofty expectations he places on himself, as Walters attempts to put together the best roster possible. The Bombers finished last year with the second-best record at 12-6, but the defence was considered among the worst in the CFL, finishing last in almost every statistical category that didn’t involve takeaways.

Winnipeg combined for 101 takeaways in 2016 and 2017 while the next closest team was the Calgary Stampeders with 90 (no other team had even 80).

Meanwhile, the Bombers allowed the most passing yards last year, surrendering an average of 321.6 yards through the air per game.

Head coach Mike O’Shea shook up his defensive coaching staff last month when he fired defensive backs coach Tony Missick and defensive line coach Todd Howard. O’Shea did retain defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall, however — a move that seemed to sit well with Randle.

“We force a lot of turnovers — I think we’re doing something right. The core principle of what we’re trying to do, we have been getting done,” he said. “The glimpses of it, and flashes of it are adding up and to keep the mind of it all — Richie Hall — a part of it, it’s a very important and pivotal piece to why we get those turnovers.

“He put us in those positions to make those plays. But at the end of the day we got to fix something — that’s pretty obvious.

“I’m down with the plan, continuing to do my part and I’ll continue to use my experience and what I know about the game to just educate and uplift us to a point where it’s not even a second thought. I got to continue to get better myself. That’s my main focus, just playing my part in whatever his plan might be.”

Other pending free agents on defence include halfback T.J. Heath, linebackers Maurice Leggett, Kyle Knox and Sam Hurl, defensive end Jamaal Westerman and defensive tackle Jake Thomas.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @jeffkhamilton