Bear Woods

Jonathan "Bear" Woods (born January 22, 1987) is a former professional Canadian football linebacker of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was originally signed by the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He made his professional debut for the Montreal Alouettes (CFL) in 2013 and won a Grey Cup championship with the Toronto Argonauts in 2017. He played college football at Troy University. In January 2022, he was named head football coach at Wetumpka High School in Wetumpka, Alabama.

Bear Woods
Bear Woods before a Toronto Argonauts game in 2018.
Born: (1987-01-22) January 22, 1987
Macclenny, Florida
Career information
StatusRetired
CFL statusAmerican
Position(s)LB
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight245 lb (111 kg)
CollegeTroy
Career history
As player
2010–2011Atlanta Falcons*
2011–2016Montreal Alouettes
2017–2021Toronto Argonauts
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star2014, 2016
CFL East All-Star2014, 2016
Career stats

Early years

Woods is a native of Macclenny, Florida and attended Baker County High School.[1]

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

Woods was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent on April 26, 2010. He was waived on September 2, 2011.

Montreal Alouettes

On September 28, 2011, Woods signed with the Montreal Alouettes.[2] Woods did not see any playing time in his first 2 seasons in the CFL; in the 2013 CFL season Woods played on special teams and sparingly on defense. He accumulated 5 defensive tackles and 13 special teams tackles.

The 2014 CFL season proved to be a breakout year for Woods, as he finished the year ranked number 2 in tackles with 89 (BC Lions linebacker Solomon Elimimian finished first with 143). He also added an impressive 7 quarterback sacks. He was the East Division nominee for the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award in 2014, winning the James P. McCaffrey Trophy as consolation.[3] Following his standout season, he signed a three-year extension with the Alouettes on January 2, 2015.[4] Woods missed the vast majority of the 2015 season after suffering a torn pectoral muscle in the second game of the season.[5] Woods returned to being one of the star players on the Al's defense for their 2016 season. He played in all 18 regular season games and for the second time in his career finished second in tackles to Elimimian. Woods also had five sacks, three forced fumbles, one of which he recovered, and two interceptions. Just like in 2014, both linebackers were nominated to represent their divisions as the finalists for the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award.[6] Just like in 2014 Solomon Elimimian once again took home the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award for the 2016 season.[7] On May 29, 2017, at the start of training camp for the 2017 season, the Alouettes announced they had released Woods.[8]

Toronto Argonauts

On June 7, 2017, the Toronto Argonauts announced they had signed Woods to a contract.[9] He played and started in 17 regular season games and both playoff games, leading the team in defensive tackles. He won his first Grey Cup championship in the Argonauts' 105th Grey Cup victory, posting four defensive tackles in the game. He started the 2018 Toronto Argonauts season on the six-game injured list while he recovered from shoulder surgery and would ultimately only play in four games that season, contributing 29 defensive tackles and 2 special teams tackles.[10] On January 28, 2019, Woods and the Argos agreed to a one-year contract extension.[11] However, he was released three days prior to the start of training camp on May 16, 2019.[12] He was then re-signed by the Argonauts to a practice roster agreement on July 29, 2019.[13] He signed a restructured contract on February 26, 2021.[14] Woods ended up missing the season with injury, and in January 2022 marked a career transition by becoming a head coach for Wetumpka High School in Alabama.[15]

References
  1. "GRIN AND BEAR IT: Troy linebacker Bear Woods bided his time, then made the most of his shot". 6 January 2010.
  2. "Alouettes beef up practice roster". Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  3. "Shortening the list: Elimimian, Ray headline awards finalists". cfl.ca. November 13, 2014. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  4. "Als extend four on defence including Woods". cfl.ca. January 2, 2015. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  5. "Alouettes turn to Nic Shortill to fill middle-linebacker hole". Montreal Gazette. 2015-09-25. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  6. "Alouettes linebacker Bear Woods a finalist for top CFL defender award". Montreal Gazette. 2016-11-10. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  7. "Stamped and Sealed: Calgary dominates Shaw CFL Awards". CFL.ca. 2016-11-24. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
  8. "Alouettes release star LB Woods - Article - TSN". TSN. 2017-05-29. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  9. "Argos sign international LB Woods - Article - TSN". TSN. 2017-06-07. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  10. "Home-opener a 'sense of pride' for Argonauts". torontosun.com. 2018-06-21. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  11. "Argonauts sign LB Bear Woods to one-year deal". CFL.ca. 2019-01-28. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  12. "Argos release veteran linebacker Bear Woods". CFL.ca. 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
  13. "Argos add LB Bear Woods to practice roster". CFL.ca. 2019-07-29. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
  14. "Argos and Bear Woods restructure contract". Argonauts.ca. February 26, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  15. "Former Argos, Als linebacker Bear Woods hired as head coach, athletic director of Alabama high school | 3DownNation". 22 January 2022.
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