The Mercyhurst Mercenary loves to wreak havoc on the football field, but he couldn’t be happier to have a little more stability in his life.

Linebacker Ian Wild returned to Winnipeg on Tuesday, signing a three year contract that will take him to the end of the 2017 season. Wild, a Mercyhurst grad who spent the last two years with the Bombers, signed with his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers in February but was released last month.

He could have signed a CFL contract for the rest of the season and given the NFL another chance this winter, but he decided to take the sure thing instead.

“That was something I considered, but it’s nice to have a couple year thing where I know I can get an apartment for a year and know that I’m going to stay there as opposed to moving around every three months,” Wild said Tuesday at Investors Group Field. “That’s something I’ve been doing for four years now. Since I left college I’ve been uncertain, so to get a home for a couple years is going to be nice.”

The Bombers don’t know where Wild, a natural weak side linebacker, will fit in long term, or if they do they’re not saying, but they already have Khalil Bass at weak side linebacker and Sam Hurl in the middle. They hope to have Wild on the field Friday night against the Calgary Stampeders, and he would take the roster spot of Jasper Simmons, who was released Tuesday morning.

Hurl, Bass and Simmons were all on the field together at times defensively, so the same thing will be able to happen with Wild joining the fold.

“Off the field he’s an extremely hard worker,” head coach Mike O’Shea said. “He’s making sure guys are getting together to watch more tape. He’s always talking or thinking football. He’s a model professional, so if you get a chance to add a guy like that to your organization you have to take that opportunity.”

Indications were Wild was having an excellent camp with the Steelers, playing both linebacker and safety, but he was among the first round of cuts late last month. He could have continued waiting for more NFL opportunities, but he said he was “going crazy” and needed to “make some moves.”

Argos went hard

A source said the Toronto Argonauts went hard after Wild, but he ultimately decided to return to the team that gave him his first chance to play.

“Winnipeg is where I started,” Wild said. “They’ve been faithful to me, so I feel at home here. So it’s kind of a no-brainer for me.

“It starts with (CEO) Wade (Miller) and coach O’Shea. I like playing for him. Just being in the city that I know now, I don’t have to start over and get to know a new city. I know a lot of people here now, so it’s kind of a second home for me.”

Simmons appeared in just three games for the Bombers after he complained his way out of Calgary last month. Ottawa’s most outstanding player last season managed one tackle in limited action with the Blue and Gold. There was just no room left for Simmons, who would have played Calgary for the first time this weekend but won’t get the chance now.

“I don’t know that it would be ultimately fair to put Jasper Simmons back on the practice roster when we’ve got other practice roster guys that we’re trying to get on, too, and see what they can do,” O’Shea said. “That was the logical move.”