Riders Re-sign All-Star DE Willie Jefferson

Riders Re-sign All-Star DE Willie Jefferson

Published: Wednesday, Jan 10th 2018, 11:01am

by Piffles Podcast Staff (@PifflesPod)

Pending free agent Defensive End Willie Jefferson has officially re-signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders signing a 1-year extension! Justin Dunk of 3 Down Nation originally reported the deal being done in November, but nothing was made official until today.

Jefferson, 26, had a breakout 2017 with the Riders, recording 8 QB Sacks, a touchdown on a punt block and had an interception in the East Final against Toronto. The stats simply don’t do justice to just how dominant Jefferson was as he could have easily had 16 sacks. He was the most consistent player on the Riders defence throughout most of the season and will look to build on last year’s strong performance.

It appears the hold up was over the signing bonus numbers. Jefferson took a slightly lower overall salary, in exchange for a larger signing bonus. Due to tax laws, his take-home pay won’t change much over what was apparently agreed to in November, but he will come with a lower overall cap hit for the 2018 season.

The Beaumont, Texas native will be going into his 5th season in the CFL, his third in Saskatchewan.