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MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Blue Bombers picked up defensive lineman Kemari Munier-Bailey from Birmingham, England, in last year\u2019s CFL Global Draft.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re still doing something great, you still started something great,\u201d Munier-Bailey said of the mindset he tried to maintain while on the practice roster. \u201cThat\u2019s how I was trying to look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the 24-year-old admitted his first CFL season was emotionally difficult at times, especially while waiting for an opportunity to prove himself after making his pro debut in Winnipeg\u2019s final regular-season game in 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really hard, man. I was telling my mom, like, \u2018I don\u2019t know,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cI even cried. I cried because I love football. I do love football. I love sports, and everybody\u2019s always like, \u2018There\u2019s more you can do,\u2019 but like, I don\u2019t feel like I was getting a chance to really show why I\u2019m here, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Head coach Mike O\u2019Shea said the transition into a first CFL training camp can be overwhelming for many players because of the mental demands that come with learning a new system and style of play.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think in your first training camp, for a lot of guys, it can be exhausting,\u201d O\u2019Shea said. \u201cAll the mental aspects of learning a new playbook, learning a new language for a lot of guys, different field sizes, different positions, extra guy on the field \u2014 a lot of stuff is quite foreign to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Munier-Bailey said conversations with O\u2019Shea and support from team staff helped him push through those challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like coming to coach (O\u2019Shea), he was there for me emotionally and stuff, therapists were here, you know, just made me appreciate the game a little more,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it was really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like it was one of the most emotional times I\u2019ve ever been in, both spiritually, mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bombers traded up to select Munier-Bailey second overall in the 2025 CFL Global Draft.<\/p>\n
His path to Winnipeg included a late transition from basketball \u2014 where he represented Great Britain\u2019s junior national team \u2014 to football before developing his game at the U.S. college level with stops at Idaho, Fresno State and Weber State. His breakout season came in 2024 at Weber State, where he recorded nine sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss while earning FCS Central All-America Third Team and second-team All-Big Sky honours.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just trying to be the best for my team, for real,\u201d Munier-Bailey said. \u201cLike this off-season has really shown me to be a sponge, to take in stuff. So this training camp, I\u2019m trying to take in as much information.\u201d<\/p>\n
Munier-Bailey spent part of his off-season in Utah, where he trained while reconnecting with former coaches, teammates and friends. He also returned to England to visit his family, where he is the oldest of 21 siblings, including 12 sisters and nine brothers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I even do this, that\u2019s why they went to college. I didn\u2019t even want to go to college, but I want to show them, you know, this stuff\u2019s possible,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not even just my siblings, my cousins, it\u2019s the kids that I was raised around in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n