It’s interesting how an injury can change the course of a career.
Like most teams in professional sports, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have a player who is a classic case of such a story.
Johnny Sears Jr. joined the Blue Bombers late in the 2010 season after narrowly missing out on making the Cincinnati Bengals roster.
He had a tremendous training camp with Winnipeg in 2011, and was poised to become a starter in the team’s secondary before an ankle injury during the final pre-season game sent him to the 9-game injured list.
Sears managed to return for the final four regular season games, the Eastern Final and the Grey Cup, displaying the speed and aggressiveness that excited the Bomber management and coaches.
Sears started to fulfill his potential in 2012, dressing for 15 games, and showing the athletic ability and toughness that made him one of the more feared defenders in any CFL secondary.
The word was out: Keep an eye out for the Bombers guided missile, Johnny Sears.
And this is where injury once again delivered a setback for Sears, proving to be the biggest setback yet in his career.
Sears had played out his option in 2012 and was determined to head back to the NFL.
The Bombers had almost come to terms with losing him, having been convinced that Sears’ speed and willingness to hit anything that moved would earn him, at the very least, a spot on some NFL club’s special teams unit.
But late in the 2012 campaign, Sears suffered another injury, this one to his knee. It turned out to be serious, surgery was required, and his misfortune turned out to be good news for the Bombers.
It’s difficult, if not impossible, to attract NFL interest when you can’t showcase your skills at an off-season workout.
The knee injury left Sears with few viable options, so he signed a new contract with the Blue Bombers, a deal that binds him to the club through 2014, at which time he will be 27 years old. That might make it too late to take another NFL shot.
Injuries have plagued Sears again this year. He has only appeared in five games and you could argue that the Bombers have yet to realize much benefit from having Sears in their organization.
You could also argue that Sears’ reckless, hard-hitting style of play will always make him more prone to injury. But, when Sears is on the field, the Bombers are a different team.
He is a ferocious hitter, he plays with a particular passion, he is a leader, and he brings the kind of gung-ho, positive attitude that coaches covet. Sears is determined to make the 2014 CFL season the one in which he finally stays healthy and fully delivers on his potential.
If he does, the Blue Bombers will become the full beneficiaries of having a talented player whose career has been held back by injuries, but whose time in Winnipeg has, ironically, also been extended by those injuries.
