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With a starting quarterback signed and sealed, it’s time for the Grey Cup champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers to deliver on their next priority.

Zach Collaros may have thrown some pretty passes in Winnipeg’s title run, but it was the Bombers defence that did much of the dirty work.

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Scrape the mud from the undercarriage of that three-game road trip to glory and you’ll find the numbers that mattered most: Holding playoff opponents to 14, 13 and 12 points in the West semifinal (Calgary), the West Final (Saskatchewan) and the Grey Cup (Hamilton), respectively.

At the wheel was defensive end Willie Jefferson, who shifted into a whole new gear in the Grey Cup.

That three-sack, two-forced-fumble performance put a stamp on a 2019 campaign that saw Jefferson named the CFL’s top defensive player for the first time in his career.

The timing is rich: Jefferson will become a free agent on Feb. 11.

We can only imagine No. 5 has asked to be paid like the No. 1 defensive player in the league. That’s just the way it works.