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NIC ADAM \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive back Evan Holm prefers his role in the CFL \u2014 one of the main reasons he decided to re-sign with the club. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Winnipeg gave me a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was cut after the first pre-season game but was brought back soon after and slowly but surely worked his way into the lineup where he appeared in nine games with four starts. As a full-time starter in 2023, he proved to be one of the best halfbacks in the CFL, and he further cemented that in 2025 when he was named the team\u2019s Most Outstanding Defensive Player for the first time in his career.<\/p>\n
Holm\u2019s growth was rewarded in a big way on Tuesday as the Bombers signed the 27-year-old from Edina, Minn., to a two-year contract extension that makes him the highest paid American DB in the CFL.<\/p>\n
Holm will earn $180,000 in 2026 which includes an $80,000 signing bonus.<\/p>\n
He was scheduled to become a free agent in February.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really think about that stuff. Just happy to be able to be with such a great fan base and be able to raise a family through football, which has been such a blessing,\u201d said Holm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWinnipeg gave me a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before putting pen to paper, Holm recently worked out with the NFL\u2019s Pittsburgh Steelers. It was only 30 minutes, and he didn\u2019t feel he was at his best considering it\u2019s a few months into the CFL off-season, but it was an avenue he wanted to explore before committing to Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did my best, and the CFL has been very good to me and the halfback position for me is really great for me and what I\u2019m athletically capable of. I fit into that mold where in the NFL I\u2019m caught between a nickel and a safety and that\u2019s sometimes a factor as well. It\u2019s, \u2018Ah, what kind of position would he play?\u2019 because halfback is such a unique position,\u201d said Holm.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, you wrestle with (not getting a fair shake in the NFL) but I also feel the CFL fits me and suits me well. You could always do better but I did my best and that\u2019s all you can really do.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bombers are getting the band back together in the secondary with Holm joining fellow halfback Deatrick Nichols and dime back Redha Kramdi as players who have re-signed. They were key pieces in what was one of the best defences in the CFL last season, but the entire unit came out flat in the playoffs and were a big reason why the Bombers fell 42-33 to the Montreal Alouettes in the East semifinal.<\/p>\n
The Als took a 19-point lead into halftime.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t CHRISTOPHER KATSAROV \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive back Evan Holm (right) intercepts a pass last season. <\/p>\n \u201cI thought as a defence we came out terrible. We just didn\u2019t do what we needed to do. We fought back, and that\u2019s great and all, but at the end of the day, I feel we lost that game as a defence \u2014 the offence was playing great,\u201d said Holm.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to say that, but I feel if we done a couple different things, we\u2019d be having a different conversation. You\u2019d say, \u2018Wow, you guys are still great.\u2019 The goal is always the Grey Cup, and we didn\u2019t get there and that\u2019s just something you have to come to terms with. But I think the key pieces are there.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can learn from our mistakes, we\u2019re not trying to repeat the same things.\u201d<\/p>\n BOMBERS RE-SIGN SPECIAL TEAMS ACE<\/p>\n Veteran Canadian linebacker Tanner Cadwallader agreed to a two-year contract extension with the Bombers on Thursday.<\/p>\n Cadwallader, 28, has finished second or third in special teams tackles on the team every year since 2022 and is four shy of moving into the franchise\u2019s top 10.<\/p>\n He was originally selected in the seventh round, 64th overall, in the 2020 CFL draft out of Wilfrid Laurier and hasn\u2019t missed a single game since his rookie season in 2021.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/taylorallen<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Taylor Allen Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree\/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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