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![\"Ruth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/3980785_web1_260212-Jarell-Broxton-2-.jpg\")
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Ruth Bonneville \/ Free Press<\/p>\n
Jarell Broxton is interviewed by reporters at Princess Auto Stadium on Thursday after the Blue Bombers signed the offensive lineman in CFL free agency earlier in the week.<\/p>\n
He then went to the B.C. Lions in 2021, only to suffer a torn bicep in his CFL debut on Aug. 28 against the Ottawa Redblacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, it\u2019s been a journey for sure,\u201d said Broxton on Thursday afternoon in an introductory press conference at Princess Auto Stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I got released by the Ravens it was tough like that first year of not playing at all. That\u2019s why I went Arena to get some tape. After that, I was like you know what, whatever happens, happens. And every opportunity that I get, I\u2019m going to take it to my full advantage and give everything I got.\u201d<\/p>\n
The football gods tested his patience before he was finally able to cement himself as a full-time starter with the Lions in 2023 where he was named the team\u2019s nominee for Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman. He took his game to another level last season by becoming a CFL all-star after surrendering a league-low 2.4 percent pressure rate.<\/p>\n
Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke pleaded with the franchise to retain his top blocker, but when it got down to business, things didn\u2019t work out. Broxton wanted to stay, but B.C.\u2019s offer was a bit lower than what he was hoping it\u2019d be.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then once that tampering window opened, my agent contacted me about Winnipeg and the offer they were giving me and I felt it was a no-brainer,\u201d said Broxton, who signed a two-year deal worth $250,000 annually.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey jumped at it right there and then and I\u2019m like \u2018Hey, I\u2019m wanted.\u2019 I wanted to go where I was wanted. It\u2019s a good salary they\u2019re giving me, so I want to come in and make a good difference as well to a good organization that\u2019s known for winning and has a good culture here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Broxton admitted he wasn\u2019t expecting to fetch that high of a number on the open market.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was (caught off guard). I thought it was going to be a little less. But, you know, it\u2019s all planned and I was happy for it, and I feel it\u2019s a great opportunity and I took it,\u201d said Broxton.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is my window of getting that contract that I\u2019ve always wanted\u2026 After this, it probably won\u2019t ever be the same. It\u2019s my window, it\u2019s with a great organization, and I was like \u2018Man, let\u2019s get it done.\u2019 I\u2019m very excited by it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even if that means he must move to right tackle?<\/p>\n
General manager Kyle Walters spoke to reporters via Zoom earlier in the day and revealed the plan is for veteran Stanley Bryant to remain at left tackle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWherever they do put me, I don\u2019t mind playing,\u201d said Broxton.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if I was to be playing right tackle, it\u2019s an adjustment, but I\u2019ve seen guys around the league bounce from left to right and play at a high level. So I think it\u2019s just a good challenge for me to take.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lions have played in three out of the last four West Finals, have the most talented quarterback in the league in Rourke and one of the game\u2019s best offensive minds in Buck Pierce at head coach. Not easy to say goodbye to that, but Broxton is encouraged by the situation he\u2019s entering. <\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I\u2019m leaving a great team with a great quarterback. But there\u2019s a great quarterback here as well,\u201d said Broxton. \u201cA great team here, and I think we got the right pieces in free agency that can make a difference as well and get a run at that Grey Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n
\t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t Broxton played with newly signed receiver Tim White briefly during their days with the Ravens. Outside of that, the six-foot-three, 315-pounder is walking into a locker room full of brand-new teammates.<\/p>\n He has, however, gotten to know Bryant over the years.<\/p>\n \u201cStanley\u2019s somebody that I\u2019ve talked to after every game we\u2019ve played against each other,\u201d said Broxton.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m excited to be in the same room as him.\u201d<\/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<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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