Re-signed Wall to play a major role on defence next season
It’s not as if Brandon Smith has left and Jamar Wall suddenly needs to take over as the Calgary Stampeders’ leader in the defensive backfield. Sure, it would be easy to look at it that way, but it’s oversimplifying things pretty dramatically.
Wall re-signed with the Stampeders on Friday and will be one of the most important veteran voices in the locker-room in 2020.
That’s generally been true for the last couple of seasons, though.
Wall may need to take on more of a leadership role, but that’s really nothing new.
“Some things change because we lost Brandon and we’re young, but we’ve got a lot of good young (DBS),” Wall said. “I don’t think my leadership changes because we have guys doing it. (Royce) Metchie was doing his thing and we have a lot of smart young guys.”
There is a level of uncertainty surrounding the Stampeders’ defensive backfield this off-season, so having a reliably dynamic guy like Wall back is a big step.
The eight-year veteran has played 128 regular season games in the CFL, all with the Stampeders. He started 16 games at the Sam position last season and was one of the team’s captains.
With Smith gone, Wall is by far the longest-serving defensive back, and he’s played a big role in teaching several generations of DBS what being a Stampeders player means.
That’s been important over the past couple of years, as guys like Ciante Evans, Tunde Adeleke and Tommie Campbell have opted to move on in free-agency.
Despite fielding a DB group with a lot of young faces last season, the Stamps still had the most interceptions in the CFL and allowed the fourth fewest yards through the air. The group was young, but there could yet again be a significant amount of turnover going into 2020.