{"id":359921,"date":"2025-12-21T15:15:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T15:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/359921\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T15:15:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T15:15:19","slug":"nichols-winnipeg-just-checks-all-the-boxes-for-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/359921\/","title":{"rendered":"Nichols: “Winnipeg just checks all the boxes for me.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deatrick Nichols certainly understands there would be a way to over-complicate and stress about being a pending Canadian Football League free agent.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a way to simplify things, too, and that\u2019s a big reason why the veteran defensive back has scribbled his name onto a one-year contract extension with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers this week rather than wait and test the CFL\u2019s open talent market come February.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a no brainer for me,\u201d said Nichols in a chat with bluebombers.com from his offseason base in Orlando, FLA. \u201cWinnipeg just checks all the boxes for me.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s everything. The team. The coaches. The fans. The people in the organization\u2026 everything. I wake up every morning and go to work and don\u2019t ever feel like I have to check in or I\u2019m going to be around someone I don\u2019t like. There\u2019s none of that.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you find a place where you\u2019re wanted and loved, why would you leave? It\u2019s like being in a relationship \u2014 if it\u2019s going good, there\u2019s no reason to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Blue Bombers first signed Nichols in 2021 and he\u2019s been a force since he first stepped on the field in Winnipeg. He was part of the 2021 Grey Cup squad \u2014 remember, it was his tipped pass in overtime that led to Kyrie Wilson\u2019s championship-sealing interception \u2014 and has started every single game since his rookie CFL campaign, now 82 in total.<\/p>\n

Still widely considered one of the best boundary-side halfbacks in the league, the 31-year-old and two-time CFL All-Star finished this past season with 37 defensive tackles and 13 pass knockdowns \u2013 second in the league to Willie Jefferson\u2019s 16.<\/p>\n

Over his time here is voice has become more and more respected, too, as a key leader not just on the defence but on the entire squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat first year I hit the field, I hit the field running,\u201d said Nichols. \u201cI was just being me, too. They opened their arms to me, and I was just able to play ball, show my love of the game, try to help guys and lead by example.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, I was around great guys like Biggie (Adam Bighill), Willie (Jefferson), Jackson (Jeffcoat) and Brandon Alexander\u2026 there was a long list of vets and great guys around me. I saw great talent around me, and it made me want to be great also.\u201d<\/p>\n

The re-signing of Nichols is the latest in a series of important extensions for the Blue Bombers, including Redha Kramdi, Brady Oliveira, Cam Lawson, Pokey Wilson \u2014 along with GM Kyle Walters and head coach Mike O\u2019Shea.<\/p>\n

Nichols said those who signed before him did influence his decision to return, along with the comfortability he has with his surroundings. What he\u2019s liked most, especially since the end of the season, is what he\u2019s hearing from teammates, coaches and management about what is ahead.<\/p>\n

The consensus? This team isn\u2019t far off from being dominant again.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody has said the same thing and that\u2019s the best part about our situation right now: everybody understands the situation and our weaknesses and strengths,\u201d Nichols said. \u201cAnd when everybody is on the same page then nothing else matters because everyone has the same goals, the same mindset. Everybody wakes up with the same intentions. When a unit or a group of guys have the same mindset, nothing is too difficult to handle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problems come when a unit thinks there are 10 different problems. Then that becomes the problem because you can\u2019t get to Step 1 to get everyone believing in the same thing. We\u2019re already past that point and it\u2019s easier to chase what\u2019s in front of us because we all know what the goal is from Day 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited about next year because it means I get to lace up,\u201d he added. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the good things about the offseason \u2014 you get the chance to let it marinate and analyze it. Then once the break is over and you\u2019ve reset, you get that kick from playing the game again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Deatrick Nichols certainly understands there would be a way to over-complicate and stress about being a pending Canadian…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":353577,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-359921","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/353577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}