O’Shea seals deal as Blue add ex-Stamp Simmons

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/08/2015 (4060 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE agent for Jasper Simmons says his client will be on the field when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers play their next game — against the Calgary Stampeders Aug. 29.

Simmons, 25, is now officially a member of the Bombers’ practice roster after the club confirmed the CFL’s worst-kept secret Thursday.

“He’s excited to have the opportunity, he’s going to give everything he has,” Sammy Gahagan said during a phone interview Thursday. “He thinks he has an opportunity to get on the field pretty quickly.”

Gahagan said his client chose Winnipeg over other teams interested in his services because of a prior relationship with Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea.

“He had familiarity with coach O’Shea and the staff there as he was previously in Toronto (with the Argos),” Gahagan said. “We have a good relationship with (the club) as well and it’s a place he wanted to be.”

The Bombers handed Simmons a contract Wednesday, only needing his signature to make it official.

Simmons, a four-year CFL veteran, started the season in Calgary but was released Tuesday following a Twitter tirade from Gahagan, who laid dormant long enough, he said.

“I sat quiet for a couple weeks,” Gahagan told the Free Press in a phone interview Wednesday. “I had enough. I was just venting. People have to remember, my loyalty is not to the Calgary Stampeders, my loyalty is to Jasper Simmons.”

Worst organization

Gahagan tore into the Stamps, suggesting the linebacker was being “held hostage” by the club he cited as the “worst organization in the CFL.”

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

“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 events of the last few days concerning Simmons have some fans worried the same thing could happen here if the linebacker doesn’t get the playing time he desires. But Gahagan was quick to play down that sentiment Thursday.

“A lot of people don’t understand the situation in Calgary,” Gahagan said. “The situation in Calgary was not initiated by Jasper, but by our agency (Axios Sports Management). Jasper is not a disruptive player, he’s not a bad character guy. So no, it’s not going to happen.”

The Bombers are currently on their bye week and the club said Simmons will be available for comment Sunday.

The Missouri alum has played in four games this season, registering four tackles.

As a member of the Ottawa Redblacks in 2014, Simmons recorded 80 tackles, three interceptions and one forced fumble while chipping in with seven special teams tackles.

— with files from Jeff Hamilton

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.