Janarion Grant

Janarion Grant (born November 20, 1993) is an American professional football player who is a return specialist for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He won the 107th Grey Cup with the Blue Bombers when they defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33–12. He played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2018.[1]

Janarion Grant
refer to caption
Grant with the Blue Bombers in 2022
No. 80 – Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Position:Return specialist
Personal information
Born: (1993-11-20) November 20, 1993
Trilby, Florida
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:173 lb (78 kg)
Career information
High school:Pasco (Dade City, Florida)
College:Rutgers
Undrafted:2018
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
CFL status:American
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Kick return yards:56
Punt return yards:52
Return touchdowns:0
Player stats at NFL.com · CFL.ca

College career

Grant attended and played college football at Rutgers from 2013 to 2017.[2] He was a returner in college over five seasons. He recorded 115 kick returns for 2,857 net yards and five kick return touchdowns to go along with 52 punt returns for 588 net yards and three punt return touchdowns.[3]

Collegiate statistics
Year School Class Pos G Kick Ret Yds Avg TD Punt Ret Yds Avg TD
2013 Rutgers FR WR 12 21 517 24.6 1 17 156 9.2 1
2014 Rutgers SO WR 11 36 910 25.3 0 6 45 7.5 0
2015 Rutgers JR WR 12 40 984 24.6 3 12 167 13.9 1
2016 Rutgers SR WR 4 6 195 32.5 1 7 112 16.0 1
2017 Rutgers SR WR 7 12 251 20.9 0 10 108 10.8 0
Career Rutgers 115 2,857 24.8 5 52 588 11.3 3

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

Grant signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent on May 7, 2018.[4] He made the Ravens final roster as the team's primary kick and punt returner. However, on September 22, 2018, Grant was waived by the Ravens after two fumbles in as many games.[5] He was re-signed to the practice squad on September 25, 2018.[6]

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Grant signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on June 3, 2019. He was added to the practice roster after training camp, but was released on June 18, 2019.[7]

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Grant was signed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on July 23, 2019.[8] He scored his first and second CFL touchdowns on August 8, 2019, in his first CFL game on punt returns against the Calgary Stampeders.[9] His 222 punt-return yards in the game set a Blue Bombers franchise record and ranked as the third-highest single-game in CFL history behind only Gizmo Williams 232 in 1991 and Keith Stokes 224 vs Montreal in 2002.[10] Grant finished the season with three punt return touchdowns and also had one missed FG returned for 61 yards.[10] Grants abilities on special teams helped the team as they would go on to win the 2019 Grey Cup against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

After the CFL canceled the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Grant chose to opt-out of his contract with the Blue Bombers on August 31, 2020.[11] He signed a one-year contract extension with Winnipeg on February 4, 2021.[12] Once again, Grant brought his electric punt return skills to the field as he averaged 11 yards a punt return through the 2021 season. This included another touchdown return for 63 yards against the BC Lions on October 23. In the CFL West Division final against Saskatchewan, Grant returned a missed field goal for 58 yards to the Winnipeg 39 yard-line. This led to an Andrew Harris touchdown as the Bombers would win 21-17 on their way to their second consecutive Grey Cup.[13] Grant and the Bombers would win the 108th Grey Cup, their second title in a row with a 33-25 victory in overtime against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. After becoming a free agent in February 2022, Grant and the Bombers agreed to a new contract on April 13, 2022.[14]

Professional statistics
Year Team G Kick Ret Yds Avg Long TD Punt Ret Yds Avg Long TD
2019 WPG 11 25 600 23.0 74 0 41 591 14.4 83 3
2020 WPG Season cancelled
2021 WPG 6 12 283 23.6 33 0 34 375 11.0 63 1
2022 WPG 16 31 782 25.2 97 1 63 817 13.0 94 2
CFL totals 33 68 1,665 25.2 97 1 138 1,783 12.9 94 6

References
  1. "Ex-Rutgers WR Janarion Grant signs contract with Baltimore Ravens following minicamp". NJ.com. May 7, 2018.
  2. "Janarion Grant College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  3. "Janarion Grant Career Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  4. Mink, Ryan (May 7, 2018). "Ravens Sign Two Rookie Tryouts, Including an Intriguing Returner". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  5. Mink, Ryan (September 22, 2018). "Ravens Promote Tim White, Robertson Daniel From Practice Squad". BaltimoreRavens.com.
  6. Mink, Ryan (September 25, 2018). "Ravens Bring Back Janarion Grant and Jermaine Eluemunor to P-Squad". BaltimoreRavens.com.
  7. CFL transactions
  8. "Bombers add wide receiver Janarion Grant". July 23, 2019.
  9. Calgary Stampeders vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers
  10. "Janarion Grant profile". Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  11. "Bombers' kick returner Janarion Grant opts out to pursue NFL opportunities". 3downnation.com. August 28, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  12. "Blue Bombers re-sign receiver/returner Janarion Grant". BlueBombers.com. February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  13. Judy Owen (December 5, 2021). "Winnipeg Blue Bombers hold off Saskatchewan Roughriders in West final". Global News.
  14. "Blue Bombers re-sign WR/returner Grant to one-year contract - TSN.ca". TSN. The Canadian Press. April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
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