Kyrie Jamal Wilson (born November 5, 1992) is an American professional gridiron football

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, ...

for the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...

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 played college football for the

Fresno State Bulldogs The Fresno State Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent California State University, Fresno (commonly referred to as Fresno State). The university is a member of NCAA Division I's Mountain West Conference (MW). It was a ...

. He has also been a member of the Oakland Raiders 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).

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

Wilson signed with the Oakland Raiders after going

undrafted 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 the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015 NFL Draft, 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park (Chicago), ...

. However, he was released as part of the team's final roster cuts before the start of the 2016 season.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Wilson first signed with the

on April 19, 2017. He made his professional debut in the

Banjo Bowl The Banjo Bowl is the annual rematch game between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) after the Labour Day Classic. While the traditional Labour Day Classic game is always played on the ...

that year on September 9, 2017. He played in five games in 2018 and signed a two-year extension to remain with the team early in 2019. He played a key role in the Blue Bombers' defence at linebacker throughout the

2019 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season The 2019 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season was the 62nd season for the team in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and their 87th season overall. This was the sixth season under head coach Mike O'Shea and the sixth full season under general manager Kyl ...

as he started in all 18 regular season games, recording 63 defensive tackles, three sacks, and an interception. Wilson helped the Bombers to the

107th Grey Cup The 107th Grey Cup decided the champion of the 2019 season in the Canadian Football League (CFL). The match was played on November 24, 2019, between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta. Wi ...

in 2019. His efforts in the game included five tackles and a pass break-up on a two point conversion attempt that saw the Bombers win their first Grey Cup in 29 years and Wilson's first CFL championship. Wilson signed a two-year extension with the Blue Bombers in January 2021, keeping him with the team through the next two seasons. He suffered a

hip flexor A flexor is a muscle that flexes a joint. In anatomy, flexion (from the Latin verb ''flectere'', to bend) is a joint movement that decreases the angle between the bones that converge at the joint. For example, one’s elbow joint flexes when one ...

injury in the first game of the season and did not play again until the end of September. Wilson finished the regular season with 16 tackles over seven games played. Despite the injuries he was a key part of the team that wen to defend their Grey Cup title in the 2021 CFL Final against the hometown Tiger-Cats in Hamilton. Trailing 22-10, the defence would rally the team as they would go to overtime and take the lead 33-25. There, after a tip drill with two Blue Bomber teammates, Wilson caught the pass deflected to him by Winston Rose sealing his and the team's second consecutive title. Wilson's father, step-mother, sister, and brother were all in attendance for the game and made their way down to the field to celebrate with him. Considering the season and the title in the middle of the pandemic, Wilson said that "Sometimes when you’re not able to do certain things, your mind starts to wander or you start questioning whether you still want to do it, but we were all locked in. It just shows that no matter what you go through, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Some stuff might be tough, but it’s all going to work out in the end." Wilson suffered an Achilles injury early in the 2022 season and was expected to miss a significant amount of time recovering.

Statistics

CFL

References

External links

Winnipeg Blue Bombers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Kyrie 1992 births Living people African-American players of Canadian football American football linebackers Players of American football from Fresno, California Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Canadian football linebackers Fresno State Bulldogs football players 21st-century African-American sportspeople