New Winnipeg Blue Bombers offensive tackle Jarell Broxton is a large man — his height listed at six-foot-three, his weight at 315 — and as one of the club’s big free agent additions settled in to meet with the media Thursday afternoon he was sporting his new colours.
Opting to open the session with an ice-breaker question, CJOB’s Derek Taylor asked Broxton about the size of his new Blue Bombers hoodie…
“Triple XL,” Broxton said with a grin. “It’s big, but very cozy.”
Broxton’s arrival is massive for the Blue Bombers — literally and figuratively — for what he brings to the club’s offensive line. He was arguably the best tackle in the Canadian Football League last year — old friend Jermarcus Hardrick of the Saskatchewan Roughriders was honoured with the award — and one of the prized free agents in this year’s market.
He’ll move from left tackle to right tackle here in Winnipeg to keep future hall of famer Stanley Bryant on the left side and instantly improves the unit. That’s the stuff we’ll all begin to see immediately when the season starts in June and in the meantime, Broxton made a stop in Winnipeg to iron out some paperwork, do a facility tour, shake some hands and sign some autographs.
“It feels amazing. Man, it’s very welcoming when I first got here,” he began. “I’m excited about everything about just being in a great organization like Winnipeg. I’m more than excited.”
Broxton’s signing in Winnipeg has made him the highest paid American offensive lineman in the CFL, with his new two-year deal paying him a reported $250,000 in 2026. His decision to leave the B.C. Lions came after QB Nathan Rourke made a public pitch to keep him in black and orange, as he was that team’s top offensive lineman for the last three years.
“I was originally thinking I was going to be in B.C. again, of course,” he said. “I wanted to be in B.C. But in the whole process there were some numbers and I figured, ‘Hey, I want a little more than what I was getting offered’ and so we were at a standstill. It was a waiting game and I was, ‘Well, I’m going to test free agency’ and once that tampering window opened my agent contacted me with what Winnipeg was offering and I felt it was a no brainer because they jumped on it right there and then and I thought, ‘Hey, I’m wanted.’
“I want to go where I’m wanted and it’s a good salary that they’re offering me, so I want to come in and make a difference, as well, to a good organization that’s known for winning and has a good culture here.”
Interestingly, Broxton had officially started his CFL career with the Blue Bombers after signing in 2020. But when the 2020 season was lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic and with the club here stacked at tackle with Bryant and Hardrick, Broxton was brought to B.C. by Ryan Rigmaiden, who left the Blue Bombers to re-join the Lions in 2021.
His journey in the game is a testament to his stick-to-itiveness. Broxton began his college days at Lackawanna College in Scranton, PA, then moved to Baylor. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Baltimore Ravens — he was in camp with new teammate Tim White for a spell then — and then was out of football in 2018 before playing Arena Ball with the Baltimore Brigade, then signing in Winnipeg before the pandemic wiped out that plan.
Even when he arrived in B.C., he had some adversity, as he suffered a torn bicep in his CFL debut in 2021.
“The adversity I’ve had before that injury — going to junior college for two years, getting injured in junior college, having to stay an extra year and then finally going to Division I… I had to switch positions because I was a D-lineman in high school and in my first year of juco I switched over to O-line,” he said. “All that adversity I’ve been through, that injury was something I already had been through before with the bicep. I just attacked it and said, ‘Man, I’m going to come back better and stronger.’ I’m big in my faith as well.
“It’s been a journey, for sure, and I’m very grateful and thankful. I thank everybody on the Winnipeg staff for believing in me and bringing me in, honestly.”