“It felt like a second home right away. And now it’s a first home.”

Desmond Lawrence parachuted into Winnipeg in early October knowing he was jumping into a championship-calibre Blue Bombers squad.

What was uncertain was the scene that would greet him when his boots hit the ground.

That said, the 28-year-old Charlotte, N.C. product had already made a few stops along his professional football journey – from the Detroit Lions to the Atlanta Legends of the Alliance of American Football to the D.C. Commanders of the XFL and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats all before Winnipeg – and all those experiences certainly gave him the ability to maneuver and understand change, how to fit in and how to read a situation.

And what he saw in Winnipeg, despite being here for less than 50 days and starting in just three games – one in the regular season and then both the Western Final and Grey Cup – had him eager to put his name on the new contract that was formally announced on Wednesday.

“In this business you just never know when or where the next door may open for you,” began Lawrence in a chat with bluebombers.com from his offseason base in Charlotte. “But I know I’ve walked into one of the better situations in my career in Winnipeg.

“I was in a ‘prove yourself’ opportunity for me to get my name out there and doing it in this organization was pretty easy. The guys accepted me as soon as I got there and wanted to make me feel like I was a part of the team, even though it was so late in the season. That was big for me.

“It’s also the coaching style. I fell in love with the schematics we have, the way they use players – it’s just a perfect fit for me that allows me to add to the team and help it win.”

Lawrence did that almost instantly upon his arrival. He started one regular-season game at corner, then both the Western Final and Grey Cup and finished with eight tackles, five pass knockdowns and an interception.

His signing provides some stability to a secondary that is always undergoing change and with Winston Rose, Alden Darby, Jr. Nick Taylor and Mercy Maston currently pending free agents – plus, with Taylor and Maston coming off Achilles injuries.

It’s bigger than that for Lawrence. He was the Tiger-Cats Most Outstanding Rookie in 2021 but was cut adrift by the club in October after appearing in just five games. The timing may have been brutal in the moment, but just four days later he was on his way to Winnipeg.

“The biggest challenge came in that day with being released and how to mentally deal with it,” Lawrence said. “It was about staying the course for me because I knew my ability wasn’t the problem – it was more about being on the field to showcase it and play in a situation that fit me. That situation (in Hamilton) was what it was. They had their guys in front of me and when I came in, I didn’t please them.

“I knew there were only a couple weeks left in the season. When I got the call from Winnipeg it was a bit of a shock to me, not because they were calling me, but because of the calibre of team that was calling me so late in the year. They had a lot of guys banged up, but to go from having a team not really believing in me to a new team that could revive everything meant so much.

“I’ve embraced that opportunity while the whole organization – the guys, the fans, everyone – has embraced me. It felt like a second home right away. And now it’s a first home.”

Lawrence will stay busy training and working this winter – his family owns a roofing company and he’s got a few other opportunities lined up – and will use the loss to Toronto in the championship game as a motivation.

He won’t be alone in that, either.

“I’ve got a chip on my shoulder, and I look forward to keeping it there next year,” he said. “I won’t be alone in that. That (the Grey Cup loss) is going to drive a lot of guys in their offseason training.

“When we come back that fire will be lit again, and everyone will just go that much harder for one another.”