Veteran Browne re-ups with Blue

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This article was published 09/02/2012 (5312 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Cross Brady Browne off the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ to-do list.

Less than a week before the 28-year-old was eligible to try the free agent market, the local CFL club announced they had agreed to a three-year deal (two plus an option) with the non-import safety Wednesday afternoon.

Browne has been in Manitoba since the Bombers acquired his rights from the Saskatchewan Roughriders before the 2009 season. A Maple Ridge, B.C., product, Browne said he really had no desire to play anywhere else in 2012.

“I’d like to think I’m a very loyal person,” the former University of Manitoba Bison said Wednesday. “This organization was the first one that actually gave me a chance to play in this league. I got my degree here, I love this city, and it didn’t make sense to leave. It’s been my home for eight years now, so why not make it another three?”

Browne, who makes his impact running down kicks on special teams, missed most the 2011 season thanks to a bicep tear suffered in the first game of the season in Hamilton. Back-to-back stints on the nine-game injured reserve signalled that Browne might be sidelined for the entire year, but he worked hard to get into game shape and found himself back on the active roster for the East final and the Grey Cup.

“It was a nightmare,” he said. “Seeing how good the team was doing and not being able to be a part of it, and the doctors saying there was no chance of me coming back, it wasn’t a lot of fun.

“I could see the good things that were happening with the defence and I want to be a part of it,” he added. “This team is so young, and to do what we did last year — why would you want to break that up or leave?”

Officially, the Bombers still have eight potential free agents left to re-sign.

— WOODSON SIGNS: The Bombers also announced they have finally come to terms with Canadian running back Anthony Woodson.

The 24-year-old was originally drafted by the club in the fourth round (29th overall) in the 2010 CFL college draft, but elected to remain at the University of Calgary to finish the final two years of his CIS eligibility.

Last season with the Dinos, the 6-foot, 210-pound running back rushed 82 times for 488 yards and two touchdowns as he shared the backfield with two other players.

The Bombers are loading up on running backs this off-season. Currently, Winnipeg has Fred Reid and Carl Volny (both recovering from serious knee injuries); starter Chris Garrett; practice roster holdover Bloi-Dei Dorzon; Chad Simpson (signed this winter); and Woodson under contract.