Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ offensive lineman Stanley Bryant is officially the CFL’s oldest non-kicker, but that doesn’t mean he plans to stop playing anytime soon.
“I never expected to go this long. It’s one of those things that I stuck with and things just worked itself out,” Bryant told 3DownNation. “When I first heard of the CFL, I didn’t know much about it. I came up here, (I was on practice roster) for a year, then got a chance to play finally and just kept playing.”
Just keep playing he has. Bryant has now suited up for 219 career regular-season games, 15 playoff games, and seven Grey Cups. 154 of those regular-season games have come as a member of the Blue Bombers, putting him No. 25 in franchise history. Had his entire career taken place in Winnipeg, he’d be only one game shy of Stan Mikawos for fourth all-time behind Bob Cameron, Troy Westwood, and Chris Walby.
Bryant turns 39 on May 7, the same day rookie camps are scheduled to open across the CFL. The youngest player currently set to participate in Winnipeg’s camp is linebacker Dreydon Hall, who turned 23 in March, making him 16 years Bryant’s junior. With the 2025 CFL Draft set for Tuesday, April 29, it’s possible the Blue Bombers will add some even younger players before then.
The six-foot-five, 315-pound blocker has contemplated retirement but currently plans to play until at least 40, which would keep him active through the 2026 season. Unlike other professional sports like basketball and baseball, Bryant recognizes that you can’t play football after you retire. Once it’s done, it’s done, so it makes sense to enjoy every season you can.
Bryant is a shoo-in to be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame the first year he’s eligible, a feat accomplished by only two dozen players. He’s the only CFL player ever to win more than two Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman awards, earning four. Russ Jackson, Doug Flutie, Tony Gabriel, and Willie Pless are the only players ever to win more than four league awards, putting him in elite company. Bryant also earned his eighth All-CFL selection this past season, putting him behind only six players who have earned more.
The native of Goldsboro, N.C. went through an alarming experience last season when he collapsed during a late-August game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He was released from hospital the following day with the medical event eventually attributed to a combination of illness and heatstroke. The blindside blocker returned to the lineup three weeks later after missing two games and didn’t skip a beat for the rest of the season.
Bryant believes he’s still one of the great players in the CFL and has changed his training regiment to help preserve his longevity. He’s accepted that he’s unlikely to get stronger, choosing instead to focus on flexibility and stretching, joking that he has to set lower than ever before because the “old bones don’t want to kick like they used to.”
Winnipeg last hosted the Grey Cup in 2015, which was Bryant’s first year with the Blue Bombers. After three consecutive Grey Cup losses, winning a championship on home turf, something no team has accomplished since the Saskatchewan Roughriders did so in 2013, would be a sweet way to bring that losing streak to an end.
“I remember in 2015 when (Winnipeg hosted it), we were a pretty bad team then. But now, 10 years later, we’re one of the top teams in the CFL, so it’s a great opportunity for us to go out there and possibly win a Grey Cup in our home city,” said Bryant. “No pressure on us, we’ve just gotta get the job done and get that win.”
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