VANCOUVER — With a smile and a nod, Janarion Grant says there’s nothing personal for him about Sunday’s Gray Cup game, even though the CFL’s best punt returner will face his former team when the Toronto Argonauts take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in British Columbia. Stadium Square.

No idea of ​​revenge, perhaps of justification?

“It’s not personal,” Grant said during Wednesday’s media day. “It’s another Gray Cup game. I’m lucky to be part of it. I’m just ready to go to work.

Grant spent four years with Winnipeg, winning the Gray Cup in 2019 and 2021. In 41 regular season games, the slippery 30-year-old from Fort Trilby, Fla., scored eight touchdowns on kick returns, making him the franchise’s all-time leader. .

Even when the Bombers allowed Grant to become a free agent last winter, he didn’t take it as a snub.

“It was a business deal,” he said. “It happens. You just move forward.

“The guys know how I’m doing and how hard I work. They know I’m ready to play.

When Toronto head coach Ryan Dinwiddie realized Grant was available, he encouraged general manager Michael (Pinball) Clemons to sign him.

“I didn’t understand why he was a free agent (but) I told Pinball, let’s put him here,” Dinwiddie said.

Grant did not disappoint. He returned 67 punts for a league-leading 989 yards and three touchdowns during the regular season. He also finished second in kickoff returns with 1,000 yards and a touchdown.

“He changed some games with his explosiveness on special teams,” Dinwiddie said. “Look at his season, it’s probably been three or four games that he’s really scored. Without his performance, we probably wouldn’t be sitting here at this point.

Grant played a role in Toronto’s 30-28 victory over the Montreal Alouettes in last weekend’s East final. With the Argo leading 16-7 late in the first half, he scooped up a bouncing ball on a punt and returned it 71 yards for a touchdown.

Grant has a history of playoff heroics. As a Bomber, he returned a punt 92 yards for a touchdown in Winnipeg’s 2022 West Final victory over the BC Lions.

A week later, in the Gray Cup in Regina, Dinwiddie had a front-row seat when Grant returned a punt 102 yards for a touchdown. The play early in the fourth quarter looked like it would give the Bombers a victory, but the Argos fought back to take a 24-23 victory.

“It was definitely a highlight,” Grant said of his Gray Cup touchdown. “I always think that every time I touch the ball, I can do it.”

Grant is a compact five-foot-nine and weighs 157 pounds. He’s not a murderous runner who runs through people. Instead, he uses his speed and stealth to leave tacklers hanging on air.

He says vision and patience are important ingredients for a ghost’s success.

“You have to stay focused, even if something bad happens,” Grant said. “Just being out there and playing a different game at a time. You know that in the next play, you will make a difference.

“There’s definitely patience. If something doesn’t go as planned, you watch the cinema. That’s why we put iPads aside.

The Argos finished second in the East this year with a 10-8 record, but they will enter Sunday’s game as heavy underdogs. With starting quarterback Chad Kelly out due to a serious leg injury, veteran Nick Arbuckle will start.

For a man who can make a lot of noise on the field, Grant is calm and soft-spoken. Dinwiddie says he has “the most beautiful smile in the world.”

Toronto linebacker Wynton McManis believes no matter what Grant says publicly, he wants to make a statement against the Bombers.

“You just want to win,” McManis said. “You want revenge on the other team in the back of your mind, but you don’t let it overwhelm you, don’t let it overwhelm you.”

Grant said his goal was to win the Gray Cup. It turns out that to do this he has to beat his old team,

“We’ve come this far,” he said. “We know we can do better. We are certainly not satisfied.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published November 12, 2024.