Jonathan "Bear" Woods (born January 22, 1987) is a former professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He was originally signed by the Atlanta Falcons of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2010. He made his professional debut for the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...

(CFL) in 2013 and won a Grey Cup championship with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

. He played college football at Troy University. In January 2022, he was named head football coach at

Wetumpka High School Wetumpka High School is a public high school in Wetumpka, Alabama, United States. It is one of four high schools in the Elmore County Public School System. History Wetumpka High School was founded in 1897 as the 5th District Agricultural Schoo ...

Wetumpka Wetumpka () is a city in and the county seat of Elmore County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,220. In the early 21st century Elmore County became one of the fastest-growing counties in the state. The city is ...

, Alabama.

Early years

Woods is a native of

Macclenny, Florida Macclenny is a city in Baker County, Florida . Located just west of Jacksonville, it is one of the principal municipalities comprising Greater Jacksonville. The population was 7,304 at the 2020 census, up from 6,374 in 2010. It is the county seat ...

and attended Baker County High School.

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

Woods was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an

on April 26, 2010. He was waived on September 2, 2011.

Montreal Alouettes

On September 28, 2011, Woods signed with the

. Woods did not see any playing time in his first 2 seasons in the CFL; in the 2013 CFL season Woods played on special teams and sparingly on defense. He accumulated 5 defensive tackles and 13 special teams tackles. The

2014 CFL season Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unre ...

proved to be a breakout year for Woods, as he finished the year ranked number 2 in tackles with 89 (

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first seas ...

linebacker

Solomon Elimimian Solomon Elimimian (born October 21, 1986) is a former Canadian football linebacker and the current president of the Canadian Football League Players' Association (CFLPA). He spent nine seasons with the BC Lions and was named the CFL's Most Outs ...

finished first with 143). He also added an impressive 7 quarterback sacks. He was the East Division nominee for the

CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award The Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award is annually awarded to the best defensive player in the Canadian football League. The winner of the award is selected by members of the Football Reporters of Canada along with the head coaches in the CFL. ...

in 2014, winning the James P. McCaffrey Trophy as consolation. Following his standout season, he signed a three-year extension with the Alouettes on January 2, 2015. Woods missed the vast majority of the 2015 season after suffering a torn pectoral muscle in the second game of the season. Woods returned to being one of the star players on the Al's defense for their 2016 season. He played in all 18 regular season games and for the second time in his career finished second in tackles to Elimimian. Woods also had five sacks, three forced fumbles, one of which he recovered, and two interceptions. Just like in 2014, both linebackers were nominated to represent their divisions as the finalists for the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award. Just like in 2014 Solomon Elimimian once again took home the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award for the 2016 season. On May 29, 2017, at the start of training camp for the 2017 season, the Alouettes announced they had released Woods.

Toronto Argonauts

On June 7, 2017, the

announced they had signed Woods to a contract. He played and started in 17 regular season games and both playoff games, leading the team in defensive tackles. He won his first Grey Cup championship in the Argonauts'

105th Grey Cup The 105th Grey Cup was played on November 26, 2017, between the Calgary Stampeders and the Toronto Argonauts at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. In a re-match of the 100th Grey Cup, the Argonauts won the game 27–24, winning their 17th cham ...

victory, posting four defensive tackles in the game. He started the 2018 Toronto Argonauts season on the six-game injured list while he recovered from shoulder surgery and would ultimately only play in four games that season, contributing 29 defensive tackles and 2 special teams tackles. On January 28, 2019, Woods and the Argos agreed to a one-year contract extension. However, he was released three days prior to the start of training camp on May 16, 2019. He was then re-signed by the Argonauts to a practice roster agreement on July 29, 2019. He signed a restructured contract on February 26, 2021. Woods ended up missing the season with injury, and in January 2022 marked a career transition by becoming a head coach for Wetumpka High School in Alabama.

References

External links

Toronto Argonauts bio

ESPN bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Bear 1987 births Living people American football linebackers American players of Canadian football Atlanta Falcons players Canadian football linebackers Montreal Alouettes players People from Baker County, Florida Players of American football from Florida Troy Trojans football players Toronto Argonauts players