“I’m scratching the grass, the turf, right now like a lion ready to eat a gazelle”

Janarion Grant regularly speaks in hushed tones, an almost-whisper that has those conversing with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers ace kick returner often leaning in to catch his every word.

And so it was on Tuesday, not long after Grant had completed his first full practice in eons in a development which seemingly green-lights his return to the lineup for Friday’s massive first-place showdown in Vancouver against the B.C. Lions.

Grant spoke first of his health and his eagerness – “I feel great. I’m coming back here doing what I love – I’ve been out for too long so it’s time to get the ball rolling and get going with the first game coming up.”

But it was his answer to a question from Ted Wyman of The Winnipeg Sun asking how much he is itching to make an impact that might as well been shouted from the rooftops with his mouth pressed up against a megaphone.

“I’m scratching the grass, the turf, right now like a lion ready to eat a gazelle,” Grant said with a grin. “I’m just ready to get at it.”

Grant’s potential return could be a boon to the Blue Bombers. Injured in the fifth game of the season, he still ranks second in the Canadian Football League in punt-return average (13.7 yards with Toronto’s Javon Leake first at 15.5) and his kickoff return average (24.8) is second to Hamilton’s Tyreik McAllister (26.5).

His seven-career punt return touchdowns is already a franchise record, despite the fact he has appeared in just 38 games over four seasons. In Grant’s place, Greg McCrae and Jamal Parker split the return chores, averaging 8.76 yards on 50 punt returns and 17.5 yards on 17 kickoff returns.

“It should give us some juice. I think the guys are excited for him and he’s excited to be back,” said Blue Bombers special teams coordinator Paul Boudreau. “When you’re talking about some of the elite guys, it’s tough to fill those shoes, but I appreciate the work that Greg and Mal were able to do while they were here. They’re not the same guy, but not everybody has multiple Janarion Grants on their team. It’ll be nice to have him back.

“The guys just trust that if they give him the seam, he’ll hit it. And nine times out of 10 he hits the seam with speed and strength and he’s able to break arm tackles. I don’t think people give him credit for how strong he is when he’s running. There are some guys that might go down with arm tackles – now in this league it seems that all the returners are tackle breakers – but he just does a good job of running strong and once he gets into the open space, he’s got the speed to take one home.”

Grant’s potential return comes with three games remaining, plus the playoffs. That includes this Friday in Vancouver, with the Edmonton Elks paying a visit after the bye week, followed by the regular season finale in Calgary against the Stampeders. And then the postseason – either beginning here with the West Semi-Final or another bye before hosting the West Final.

“It’s great timing,” Grant said with a smile. “I wouldn’t want it any other way. Of course, there was a healthy way, but I’m here now, 100 percent. I’m ready to roll.”

More on the Blue Bombers return to the practice field Tuesday in this week’s NEED TO KNOW…

ALL QUIET:

The CFL’s trade deadline is set for 4 p.m. on Wednesday and while it is often a bit of a non-event around the league, the club has made some moves in the past. Last year the team acquired DB Alden Darby, Jr. from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in exchange for DE Cedric Wilcots II, and in 2021 they acquired K Sergio Castillo from the Lions for a conditional fourth-round pick in 2022.

No trade was bigger – perhaps in franchise history – than the deal made just before time expired in 2019, when the Blue Bombers landed Zach Collaros from the Toronto Argonauts. All Collaros has done since is go 39-8 in the regular season while helping guide the club to three straight Grey Cup championships, winning twice.

“We had a need and there was a solution out there, and a damn good one – the BEST solution out there,” said head coach Mike O’Shea on Tuesday when asked to reflect on trade deadline day four years ago. “That’s one of those days that you’ll never forget. It’s worked out exactly as it should have. Put it that way.

“I said this 100 times: Zach was the one guy out there that could pull this off, that could do it; that could walk in and fit seamlessly, make us better and lead us like that in such a short time. I don’t know that there’s another guy out there that could have done that.”

FYI:

CB Demerio Houston did not practice on Tuesday, with Jamal Parker taking his place with the starting defence. O’Shea did indicate the club had other options, including Desmond Lawrence and Abu Daramy-Swaray. Parker finished the win over Toronto last week after the Houston injury. In any case, they’ll be facing a dynamic Lions passing attack, led by QB Vernon Adams, Jr.

“They seem healthy and rolling right now,” said O’Shea of the Lions receiving corps. “They put up a pile of yards in the last game, they catch the ball well, they’ve got a mix of speed and the ability to high point. They’ve got receivers that can do all sorts of different things. They’re a very good group.”

1K-1K WATCH:

We’ve been on this for a week now with Brady Oliveira and Nic Demski about to make history as the first Canadians on the same team to rush for 1,000 yards and have 1,000 yards receiving in the same season. Oliveira leads the CFL with 1,359 yards rushing, while Demski is at 963 yards receiving.

“They’re both very good football players,” said O’Shea. “We established that a long time ago. It is neat that they’re both Winnipeggers and I like that they feel that really deep connection – you would hope that’s the way it is, I mean, you can be from Winnipeg and might not feel that deep connection. It’s good that they do, and they relay that to the fans. I think it’s important. All the stats about the first or whatever… I wouldn’t know any of that, but obviously that would be pretty cool.”

ROAD WARRIORS?:

Here’s O’Shea on heading out on the road to face the Lions with first place potentially hanging in the balance:

“I usually say that the road part, that I’m not really sure that enters into it. And then I think about our fans and our fans make it tough, so if they have a packed house with that enclosed roof, it can be loud and make it tougher. But once the game starts you don’t really hear much of that anyway as a player.

“I think a lot of teams think that going on the road is pretty good for a team because it’s a chance to hang out a little longer together.”