Blue bidding for Simmons

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This article was published 20/08/2015 (4013 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For the Calgary Stampeders, he quickly became their biggest problem. For the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, they’re hoping he can be an even quicker solution.

Just 24 hours after the Stampeders sent linebacker Jasper Simmons packing, releasing him following a Twitter war over the weekend, reports surfaced the 6-1, 223-pound linebacker had all but signed with the Blue and Gold.

Free Press sports columnist Gary Lawless was first to report the Bombers’ interest in the 25-year-old Simmons, taking to Twitter Wednesday morning to say a contract has been issued by the Bombers and terms agreed upon.

Lawless said the only thing blocking a formal introduction by the team was unfinished paperwork and he expected “Simmons to have his contract returned to the Bombers by Thursday and to be in the lineup next week” against the Stampeders (Aug. 29 at Investors Group Field).

The release of Simmons came just a day after a war of words were exchanged over Twitter, initiated by Simmons’ agent, Sammy Gahagan. Gahagan lashed out at the team prior to a 43-8 win over the Ottawa Redblacks Saturday night, suggesting his client was being “held hostage” by the Stampeders, who he called “the worst organization in the CFL.”

In a telephone interview Wednesday, Gahagan admitted he had hit a boiling point after a phone call with Simmons prior to the game Saturday revealed his client wouldn’t be dressed for a fifth straight contest.

“I sat quiet for a couple weeks,” Gahagan said. “I had enough.”

And though his anger was clear in his words and was directed at the organization that went so far as to trade for Simmons in the off-season, Gahagan never imagined it would create such a storm online, spurring reactions from a number of Calgary players including quarterback Bo-Levi Mitchell, who told his former teammate to “smarten up” after he retweeted one of Gahagan’s messages.

“I was just venting,” Gahagan said, adding, “People have to remember, my loyalty is not to the Calgary Stampeders, my loyalty is to Jasper Simmons.”

Gahagan said the situation between his client and the Stampeders started to become tense after Simmons was told he wouldn’t be dressing for a Week 5 date against Ottawa, a game where Simmons’ family had made the trip from Florida.

“You could imagine his position there,” said Gahagan. “That’s when we talked about seeing if we could get him out of there.”

It was then Gahagan said he asked the Stampeders to either release or trade Simmons, and the Stampeders agreed to shop him around but talks stalled for weeks as frustration in Simmons’ camp continued to build.

“We tried to do it their way. It didn’t work, so then I did it our way,” Gahagan said.

“I honestly had no clue this would end up happening but in the grand scheme of things… we won. I hate to say it that way but at the end of the day we got what we wanted. We got him released and now he’s going to go somewhere and play football.”

The Bombers, who sit at 3-5 through eight weeks, look to be in the lead in the race for Simmons even though Gahagan wouldn’t confirm as much, saying “many teams have shown interest” and that “we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Saskatchewan, which is last in the West Division with a record of 0-7, and the 3-4 B.C. Lions, who just lost Solomon Elimimian — the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2014 — for the foreseeable future with a torn Achilles tendon, are also believed to be in the hunt.

The Bombers declined comment on Simmons Wednesday.

 

NOTES: The Bombers announced they have signed former Mississippi State quarterback Tyler Russell to the practice roster. Russell, 24, spent four seasons with Mississippi State, playing in 38 games with the Bulldogs. During his time there he threw for a school-record 42 touchdowns and 5,881 yards, the latter being third all-time in school history.

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