He was sitting on his balcony, enjoying the 70-degree Florida sunshine, when I hooked up with Blue Bomber kicker Justin Medlock the other day.

The first topic of conversation, after the weather — yeah, he had to rub it in, knowing what was headed for Winnipeg — was the possibility he’ll finally win the award for the CFL’s top special-teams player at Grey Cup week in Toronto on Thursday.

Medlock is up against East Division nominee Brandon Banks of the Ticats, one of the top returners in the loop.

But it’s hard to imagine this won’t be Medlock’s night.

“It’d be pretty cool,” he said. “Something I haven’t thought about since probably 2011, when I had a pretty good year and thought I was going to be pretty close to getting that award. Maybe it’ll happen this year.

“But I’m not too big on awards. It’s not like I have it in my contract or anything like that. I know a lot of guys do. It’s not a bonus for me. Just something to go on the trophy case here.”

If Medlock had an agent, a most-outstanding-player award would probably mean a bonus of several thousand bucks.

But he acts alone in contract negotiations.

That led to a situation where he actually took a pay cut midway through what was his finest of six CFL seasons.

After spending wildly in free agency and suffering some injuries, the Bombers were in danger of exceeding the salary cap.

So GM Kyle Walters approached two veterans, Medlock and O-lineman Stanley Bryant, about taking one for the team.

Medlock and Bryant agreed, signing new, lesser contracts (word is Medlock “gave up” some $33,000) that would make them free agents in February, no doubt with the promise of the Bombers making it up to them.

“Just something to help out the team,” Medlock said, calling it an easy decision. “It is a trust thing. At the time I was feeling solid. And I thought, hey, they brought me here for a reason. They didn’t bring me here just to kick for a couple of games.

“I liked my time in Winnipeg and I’d like to be back. I’m sure we’ll get it figured out.”

Medlock seems to have it figured out.

After being cut eight times, north and south of the border, the fifth-round draft pick of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs is the CFL’s new robo-kicker.

While NFL kickers combined to miss a dozen converts last weekend, Medlock was a perfect 40-for-40 this year.

But that’s only one reason he should get his hands on the special-teams trophy on Thursday.

Some others:

The 33-year-old lefty broke a record that had stood for 26 years when he booted 60 field goals this season.

He became just the third player in CFL history to kick seven field goals in a game twice during the same season.

He broke a Bomber record with 227 points and tied a team record with a 58-yarder.

He increased his league-leading, career field-goal accuracy (minimum 150 tries) from 87.5% to 87.7%.

He also helped the Bombers win a bunch of games and make the playoffs for the first time in five years, improving their record from 5-13 to 11-7.

So his $185,000-per-year signing was a success for all concerned — even if it did end on a downer, Medlock coming up short on a monster 61-yarder that would have won the West semifinal in B.C.

“I’ve played it over, obviously, a couple of times,” he said. “It’s a tough one. It was far, you know? It’s not like it was a 30-yarder and you missed it. It’s not something I hang my head over too much.

“Like I told O’Shea, it’s not like we lost the game because of a 61-yard field goal. It came down to a lot of things. That’s understating what happened.”

But did head coach Mike O’Shea put him in an unfair position?

“It was fine,” Medlock said. “Take a chance.”

You might think a trip to the Grey Cup for a possible award would help make up for the playoff loss, but Medlock doesn’t see it that way.

He didn’t even think he’d stick around for Sunday’s game.

Not that he doesn’t like the idea of going to the Grey Cup. He just wants a little more company next time.

“You can’t just go from the bottom to the top that quick. It takes time. It takes a process. And we did some good things.

“Hopefully we’ll be in that Cup next year and we won’t just be there for some awards.”

Medlock content in CFL

Of course he could kick in the NFL.

With a career success rate of 87.7%, best in CFL history, and coming off a record 60 field-goal season, Justin Medlock is as reliable as they get.

But at 33 years old, his first child on the way and with three rocky NFL stints under his belt, that horse is out of the barn – unless something unforeseen happens to the man who hoofs for the Bombers.

“You never say (never),” Medlock said. “If they say, 'Hey, you're cut,' I'd probably still be ready for a short bit of time, and then move on with my life. The thing is, you have to be ready to chase it. For a whole year. At this age, you've got bills, and your family ... so that's a tough one.

“That's why I made the decision to come to Winnipeg last year. I didn't really want to mess around with the NFL too much. But when I was young, 28, 26, it was easy.”

A fifth-round draft pick of Kansas City in 2007, Medlock made the Chiefs opening-day roster, but was cut early in the season.

Between CFL stops, he tried the NFL again in 2010 and 2012-13, and understands the pressure that caused kickers to miss a record 12 converts last week.

“It's such a mental grind down there. Every kick's so magnified. The standard of excellence is a lot higher. You miss a kick, and everybody kind of freaks out about one kick. That's the issue going on down there.”

pfriesen@postmedia.com

Twitter: @friesensunmedia