Bond making big impression with Eskimos

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This article was published 30/09/2018 (2586 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON — Just three years into his CFL career, Travis Bond has already made his way around the block.

A year ago, he was a stalwart on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers offensive line at left guard, where he was named a league all-star in 2016. Fast-forward to today and he’s with his third team, getting regular work with the Edmonton Eskimos after a brief stay in Saskatchewan.

“It’s kind of similar with the guys, with the players and teammates,” Bond said of the Eskimos Friday ahead of Saturday’s 30-3 loss. “Everybody has their own personality, the team has its own personality and coming here I felt it was a good fit for me, both personally and football-wise. For me, it just all worked out perfectly, coming from Saskatchewan, with the whole shebang, and then landing here.”

The 27-year-old from Windsor, N.C., is back at left guard in Edmonton, playing alongside an experienced front-five led by centre Justin Sorensen and left tackle Matt O’Donnell. But although Bond insists he’s exactly where he wants to be, it was certainly a bumpy road to get there.

After a standout rookie season with the Bombers in 2016, Bond would eventually fall out favour with team brass at the end of his second campaign. That year, he suffered an ankle injury that forced him to miss a game and when he was cleared for the final week of the regular season, Winnipeg opted instead to stick with Patrick Neufeld. They would go with Neufeld again in the West semifinal against Edmonton, only further frustrating Bond.

“When it came to the end of the year and I didn’t play in the playoff game, being a competitor I was a bit frustrated and angry because I wanted to play and help my teammates win a game,” he said. “They made a decision that they wanted to put a Canadian in that spot, Patrick Neufeld, but at the end of the day, the better decision is always for the team and not the player. I didn’t like it at the moment, but I understood it. I can’t be mad at the decisions that they made.”

The Bombers would end up losing the West semifinal to the Eskimos, but weeks later, Neufeld was inked to an extension, confirming Winnipeg’s move to four Canadians on the O-line. That was enough for Bond to see the writing on the wall; he was told the Bombers were moving on without him, making him a free agent.

“Maybe they felt like it would have been a better predicament for them to get an extra guy that was American and play the receiver spot,” Bond said. “I was frustrated with it, but I can’t take nothing from the business side of it.”

The Saskatchewan Roughriders would eventually come calling, inking Bond to a one-year deal. But his time there would end almost as quick as it started, as Bond was cut in early June prior to the start of the regular season.

“Facing that whole situation in Saskatchewan, I felt like I had solidified myself as ‘that guy’ and then just being released it just kind of infuriated me and also kept me humble,” Bond said. “I wouldn’t take anything from coach (Chris) Jones for making a business decision, but me, being a competitive person, I felt like I did what I needed to do to be there”

Bond is certainly appreciated by the Eskimos, who signed him after a Week 1 win over the Bombers. In that game, reigning MVP quarterback Mike Reilly took a number of heavy hits, making it an easy call to bring in a man who stands 6-7 and 356 pounds for extra protection.

“He’s been great since the day that he got here. The O-line group that we have plays together really well and they’ve played a lot of football together, so for a guy to come in, not get a training camp, and come in and not stick out like a new guy, is great,” Reilly said. “He’s obviously a veteran player, but still, you can bring a veteran into a tight-knit group and they can kind of stick out like a sore thumb because they don’t mould well with the rest of the group. He’s been a guy that has come in, played great on the field but has also become a part of that family.”

For Bond, the feeling is mutual and he hopes to be part of a big year for the Eskimos as they get ready to host the 106th Grey Cup.

“He’s a great leader. He’s not that type of person that is going to just talk about it — he’s going to be about it,” Bond said of Reilly. “Seeing him, even during Week 1 when they played against Winnipeg the first week, I watched that whole game and I was just thinking to myself, ‘Man, he’s a tough guy.’ Just to be able to stand in there and take those hits from those guys and get back on his feet and still deliver a win for the organization, that shows some guts. Who wouldn’t want to play for a guy like that?”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @jeffkhamilton