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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

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 (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

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 The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL).

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

Wilson signed with the

after going

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

in the

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

. 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 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. Win ...

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 In anatomy, flexor is a muscle that contracts to perform flexion (from the Latin verb ''flectere'', to bend), a movement that decreases the angle between the bones converging at a joint. For example, one's elbow joint flexes when one brings thei ...

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.

CFL statistics

References

External links

Winnipeg Blue Bombers bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Kyrie 1992 births Living people 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 sportsmen Oakland Raiders players Players of Canadian football from California