Spread out all the moments in a chronological timeline from Redha Kramdi’s first arrival in Winnipeg in 2021 to his transformation into a leader with the Blue Bombers and it’s a stirring testament to his perseverance, the organization’s faith in him and — perhaps most of all — the man’s iron will.

Kramdi spoke with the media Wednesday morning in a zoom call from his offseason base in Montreal — and fresh from signing a two-year contract extension with the club — and he touched on a number of subjects, including his own growth.

Yet, what stood out the most was the 28-year-old’s straightforwardness about his brother’s sudden death early in his pro career and how that led to self-doubt about his future in the game. And then, as mentioned above, how his stick-to-itiveness now has him in a key role on the Blue Bombers top-ranked defence both as a player and vocal leader.

“Early on in my career I kind of doubted myself with everything that was going on in my life,” Kramdi said Wednesday, referring to the death of his brother Sami in 2021. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to play football and if I was the player I thought I was.

“Later on, I just took it day by day and step by step, just wanting to prove to myself that I belong in the CFL. I wasn’t even thinking about defence, just about whether I belong in the CFL. And then you just put your head down and then just achieve small goals and just wait. You don’t think about the bigger picture and being a star or a player on defence, you just want to be dressed, you just want to make the team, you just want to be on the active roster and then have an impact on special teams.

“Those small goals add up to playing on defence.”

Let’s add some layers here for further context…

Head coach Mike O’Shea implored Kramdi head home to be with his family in his rookie season after his brother’s passing. And when he returned, a week later he suited up for a game against Toronto and ended up injuring his hamstring, costing him a good chunk of his rookie campaign.

His goal in his sophomore season after that was simple: “to just prove to myself that I belong in the CFL because I felt like I was an imposter and just earn the respect of JY (defensive coordinator Jordan Younger) and the rest of the defensive back room. That was my main goal. I ended up having a good camp and achieving those goals. Then I just put in front of me small goals. That year it was to play a little bit on defence, be trusted on special teams. I went on like this every year and here I am today just playing and starting on defence.”

That, in short, is Kramdi’s approach to football and part of his big-picture perspective on life. Put your head down, do the work and don’t make it bigger than it is. The son of Algerian immigrants, he knows all about sweat equity and the value in simply rolling up your sleeves and swinging the hammer.

It’s also why he is humbly proud of where he is now in his career, having transformed from a guy drafted as a special teams prospect into a defender playing a dime position — arguably the most difficult in any Canadian Football League defence.

“I feel grateful that the organization trusts me and is paying me to play football and to be the starter at an American position,” he said. “So, a grateful heart filled with love and I’m ready to go. I’m just ready to put it all on the line for these people, for the front office, for the coaches, for my teammates.”

Kramdi said he was thrilled to get his contract nailed down before Christmas. As to the temptation of possibly waiting until February to see what the free-agent market might have offered, he added: “the grass is green where you water it. I’m happy to stay in Winnipeg.”

He also touched on how he has dealt with the tough times personally and professionally, and the importance of talking about that openly with others.

“Tough times are bad regardless of how good of a person you are,” he said. “So, you need to face it and not be one with your emotions, but know and be cautious of how you feel, and what you feel and why you feel it. And then take a step forward to not fix it but be OK with it.

“We talk about death, for me personally, it’s not something you get over, it’s something you just learn to deal with your whole life. A void will always be there and not filled by anything else; you just need to be OK with it and understand it. That’s how I feel about it.

“… If you don’t feel like you’re where you need to be, you need to talk about it. There ain’t no shame in it. I’m a firm believer that we all need it.”

Asked about the 2025 season, he spoke about the team’s inconsistency all season and he pointed to the team’s performance in the loss to the Montreal Alouettes in the the Eastern Semi-Final as a snapshot of the entire year. In that game the team fell behind 25-6 at halftime and rallied in the third to take a brief lead before failing to finish the deal in a 42-33 loss.

“We came out and s–t the bed, and then came back,” said Kramdi. “And then lose a tight game. After the first half, no one thought we could come back again, and we did because we have a great team. But we couldn’t keep that lead. So that’s how I feel about the season.”

Looking ahead to 2026, Kramdi said his faith this team can regroup after a 10-8 campaign is based on his faith in O’Shea, in GM Kyle Walters and because of players like Brady Oliveira, Zach Collaros and the rest of his teammates.

He hammered that last point home with this — and it could be a statement about Kramdi himself:

“One thing about the Winnipeg Blue Bombers: I would never bet against them.”