LAYING DOWN LAW
Stamps ink deal with veteran
It didn’t take long for Cordarro Law to come to the conclusion that Calgary was where he wanted to be.
The defensive lineman signed up for a second stint with the Calgary Stampeders in September and after helping the team qualify for the Grey Cup, Law didn’t waste much time signing a new contract that will keep him in Red & White going forward.
“It’s definitely the situation (I wanted),” Law said Thursday afternoon. “Everything worked out perfectly, I’m happy to be back in Calgary and ready to chase that championship again.”
While the 28-year-old only signed with the Stampeders this season on Sept. 28, he first made an impact on the organization in 2012 and ’13. In his second season with the club, he recorded 41 tackles and 14 sacks, catching the eye of the NFL’s San Diego Chargers and earning himself a stint with the club south of the border.
He returned in September to a Stampeders defence that was rich in talent and competently succeeding at shutting down everything opposing offences threw their way.
Quickly, though, Law proved that his skill-set wasn’t surplus to requirements, finishing the final four regular season games with three sacks, one fumble recovery and nine tackles.
In the West Final, he terrorized the B.C. Lions offensive line and finished with two sacks.
But while he certainly made an impact on the field, Law said the Stampeders will feel his presence even more in 2017, when he can integrate himself into the lockerroom from Day 1.
“I’ll have a little more voice in the locker-room and I can show my leadership,” the Southern Mississippi product said. “We definitely already have great leadership on the team.
“Coming in mid-season, a lot of guys didn’t really know me. It’s hard to speak up and talk when guys don’t really know you and they already had a great thing going. Now, I can come in from Day 1 and they can see my leadership and the way I work and I can lead by example.”
Coming only a day after the Stampeders announced that they’d re-signed 2016 CFL sack-leader Charleston Hughes, GM John Hufnagel has gone a long way toward ensuring that the defensive end position — one of the Stamps’ strengths in 2016 — will again be one of the CFL’s most dominant.
“Cordarro made a positive impact on our defence when he rejoined the tam late in the year and I look forward to seeing what he’ll be able to contribute over the course of a full season,” Hufnagel said in a press release.
While familiarity with both Calgary and the Stampeders organization were major factors in Law’s decision to re-sign, it’s clear there was a lot more motivating his decision.
Law has now appeared in two Grey Cup with the Stamps, and left both the ’12 and ’16 championship games on the losing end. That doesn’t sit well with him. “I want to play for a team that’s capable and has a chance to win a championship and this is definitely the place to be,” Law said. “It was definitely a big factor, the way things ended. The championship game, for me, I didn’t have a good game in the championship game and it still hurts me to this day.
“I definitely want to get back to it and be ready.”