‘I’m a Winnipeg Blue Bomber’

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This article was published 21/07/2021 (1508 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Alden Darby had fully embraced Toronto.

He lived there year-round with his collection of cars — a Porsche and a Mercedes Benz, ran several businesses from there, and was preparing to play his fourth season there with the Toronto Argonauts.

But then, an injury over in Winnipeg changed everything.

Blue Bombers defensive back Mercy Maston tore his Achilles tendon Sunday, leading to general manager Kyle Walters picking up the phone to try and find a veteran to add to the secondary.

Walters didn’t have to look for long as the Bombers announced the following morning they’d acquired Darby, a defensive back from Long Beach, Calif., who played college ball at Arizona State, in exchange for American offensive lineman Terry Poole.

Darby participated in his first practice with his new team Wednesday and spoke to the media beforehand.

“It was actually surreal because I’ve been with the team since 2017, I dedicated my off the field and on the field life to Toronto, to the city, to the fans in the community, and ended up staying there full time in the offseason and things like that. It was kind of just like, ‘What do I do? My life is here, my cars are here, my apartment’s here,'” said Darby on his initial reaction to the trade.

“There was actually just a lot going through my mind at the time. So, I just took a little time to take a deep breath. I heard a lot of great things about Winnipeg, the city, and of course, the team. Being the defending Grey Cup champs, there was a lot of good vibes and energy that I heard from former teammates of mine and previous teammates of mine about Winnipeg and the organization so I was actually really excited after I kind of calmed down and realized everything will be OK.”

After bouncing around the NFL as an undrafted free agent between four teams — the San Diego Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts — without playing a game, Darby brought his talents up north and signed with the Argos in 2017. He won a Grey Cup as a rookie, but hasn’t had any team success since as the Argos went 4-14 in 2018 and 2019.

But now with former Bomber quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie taking over as head coach, plus a busy offseason that saw them add quarterback Nick Arbuckle, defensive end Charleston Hughes, and linebackers Cameron Judge and Henoc Muamba, the Argos are expected to take a big step forward this year. Darby was asked if it’s bittersweet to not be a part of their turnaround.

“Oh no, not at all. Honestly and truthfully, three days ago I was an Argo and looking forward to whatever season we were gonna have. Everything looks good on paper but you still have to play those games,” said the 29-year-old.

“As of right now and as of a few days ago, I’m a Winnipeg Blue Bomber and all I care about is the success of this team and how I can help make this team successful and how I can make this team go back to the Grey Cup and win the Grey Cup again.”

Darby brings experience to Winnipeg’s back end as he’s started 40 games in three CFL seasons. His résumé boasts 137 tackles, one sack, eight interceptions, and three touchdowns. In 2019, he had a career-high five picks. Head coach Mike O’Shea hasn’t said Darby is a lock to slide in at Maston’s hybrid dime-back position, but the former Argo will provide the Bombers with options as he’s played in several different spots in the secondary throughout his career, including safety.

“I pride myself on knowing every position because this is the CFL and players can go down left and right,” he said.

“You have to be ready to play anywhere. Truthfully, wherever they need me at, wherever I’m played at, I look forward to learning the defence, learning my responsibility, learning my role. Playmakers make plays wherever they’re put at.”

While Darby is saying all the right things, is there any anger about getting traded after getting all settled in Toronto?

“I mean, you can look at it that way, but at the same time, everybody loves football but football loves nobody,” Darby said.

“That was one of the things my close friend (Argos cornerback) Shaq Richardson said. He said ‘Man, we’ve been gone a year and we forgot about the business side of things.’ That’s the harsh reality, it’s still a business.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31