Football has given Dexter Lawson Jr. this crazy ride, disappointment one day, exhilaration the next. With sheer stick-to-itiveness, he keeps coming back, carrying the Bloomfield banner whenever he lines up, wherever the next line of scrimmage happens to be.
He was one of the last players cut when the storied Winnipeg Blue Bombers broke training camp last spring, but he left his calling card and never lost belief he’d be called back. After a couple of weeks in the Indoor Football League with Massachusetts, he was back home at the end of July, still watching, studying Canadian Football League games.
“I was home, watching the games, and something just felt good about that day,” Lawson says. “It was a Sunday night. I had good energy when I woke up, said my prayers that morning, it was one of those things when you know something’s coming, but you don’t know where it’s coming from, or what it might be.”
Then his agent alerted him that a call was coming; the Blue Bombers needed help in the secondary. “And I was on a flight the very next day,” he says.
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Lawson, 25, who made six tackles in the Bombers’ 26-13 win at Montreal last week, starred at Bloomfield High and at Central Connecticut, then as a grad student he showed what he could do at Division I Appalachian State, making a big play in a massive upset win over Texas A&M in 2022. He was determined to be a pro, to be the next one to show the kids back in Bloomfield what was possible, and would not turn back from the journey.
“It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster, trying to weather the storms as I go,” Lawson says.
He spent parts of two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger Cats, on and off the practice squad. He signed with Winnipeg, 12-time Grey Cup champs, in the offseason, and they made the decision to cut him in May a difficult one for longtime head coach Mike O’Shea, who won titles in 2019 and ’21, and the defensive coaches.
“It was one of the tough cuts in training camp,” defensive coordinator Jordan Younger told reporters in Winnipeg. “But (Lawson) made, obviously, a lasting impression. He was able to play multiple positions, so he fits the mold of the type of player we like — easy to get along with, does the work, self-motivated, and now there was a need.”
Lawson has been in on 14 tackles in four games since re-signing, all victories as the Blue Bombers (6-4) are closing in on Saskatchewan (8-2) and Calgary (7-3) in the West Division with eight regular season games left. They play Saskatchewan three more times, including Aug. 31 and Sept. 6.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ Dexter Lawson, left, grabs for Calgary Stampeders’ Tevin Jones, right, during first-half Canadian Football League game action in Calgary, Alberta, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
“I was just staying ready when I was home, constantly training, because I knew my opportunity would come back,” Lawson says. “Now, being back with this team I fell in love with this team I fell in love with in training camp. Being able to come back here and win with these guys, it’s a blessing. In training camp, everyone was moving as a family, doing everything together. As soon as I walked into the locker room, being greeted by the leaders of the team, them understanding who I am. They’re just appreciated to have me, to battle alongside of me, and that was likewise for me, to be able to battle with them.”
Canadian Football is a bit different than the NFL, with 12 men on a side, a wider, longer field of play, deeper end zones and three downs, not four, to make 10 yards for a first down. So there is a lot of ground for a D-back to cover, more passing to defend, a premium on speed and range. It’s a good place for a pure football player on defense like Lawson, 5 feet 9 and 190, and it plays to his strengths at cornerback.
“We’re fortunate he was still available,” O’Shea told reporters when Lawson returned. “He’s in good shape, he has good eyes.”
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Lawson played on two state championship teams at Bloomfield High, a standout on the field, the Warhawks’ MVP, and in the classroom, four times receiving the school’s student-athlete award. He’s never cut ties with his hometown, where he has been in a mentorship for junior high students at Ana Grace Academy for the Arts.
“Bloomfield is always my home,” Lawson says. “In Hartford, too, I was kind of raised there as well. When I’m home, I may go to the coffee shop or bagel shop, I run into people that saw me on TV or in the newspaper and I feel the support. They keep reassuring me I’m doing something great, I’m being a role model. Coming from a small town, in a small state, when you see somebody who is able to live out their dreams, it turns into other people’s dreams as well. I try to wear that weight on my shoulder everywhere I go, understanding I’m not just representing myself and my family, I’m representing the community, the town, the city and the state where I’m from. I try to be mindful of that with every decision I make, I’m trying to make everybody who supports me proud.”
When he was a freshman at Central, he was practicing against a quarterback with pro aspirations, Jake Dolegala, who has been in several NFL training camps and has built a career in the CFL. Dolegala is now with Hamilton.
“When I see Jake, it’s like a full-circle moment,” Lawson says. “My freshman year of college, seeing him, he was the first pro player I ever played with, before he was even a pro. I just saw the way he handled himself, the way he performed on the field, and it something that I wanted to follow behind, It’s crazy that we’re back playing at the same level again. Every time we bump into each other, it’s nothing but love.”
At every stop, Dexter Lawson Jr. exudes the joy and the pride of being a professional football player, wherever it takes him, whatever it throws his way. Right now, it’s Winnipeg, Manitoba, just north of North Dakota, roughly 1,760 miles from the hometown that means so much to him. He’s living close to 32,000-seat Princess Auto Stadium, where the Blue Bombers consistently draw sellout, or near sellout crowds, unshakeable in his belief that something good is coming next.
“The journey is a parallel, equal to what life is outside of football,” Lawson says. “Just having the ups and downs, staying the course, tread water when I can. Sometimes, it might get real high, a really great moment, but understanding there can be some low moments as well. Just kind of stay at ease and stay steady, the ups and downs of football are the reason I just keep coming back. Being from a small town, when you that chance to be some sort of inspiration for the youth, the people coming in back of you, I think you have a duty to continue to inspire. I think that’s my sole purpose in life: to continue to inspire.”
Originally Published: August 24, 2025 at 10:21 PM EDT