January 6, 2017

Bighill departs BC with Lion-sized memories

CFL.ca

By: Matt Baker

Adam Bighill’s first BC Lions experience was not unlike hundreds of other young hopefuls south of the border. After struggling to find work in the NFL, the product of Central Washington University attended the Lions’ west coast free agent camp in Portland. You’d have to forgive Lions brass for feeling like they were about to strike gold: Travis Lulay was signed after this same camp two years previous and had just unseated Casey Printers as the club’s starting quarterback late in the 2010 season. The stocky linebacker showed up to Lake Oswego High School on a mission and it paid immediate dividends.

“They knew who I was and what I was capable running wise,” Bighill told BCLions.com during a sit down interview last year. “But at the same time I didn’t have the chance to work out for them and do some one-on-one drills. I think it paid off because I intercepted a pass on my first one-on-one and later knocked down another.”

You know the story by now: Not only was Bighill signed, but he made the most of his first true opportunity to succeed in pro football. Teaming up with Solomon Elimimian, Bighill became part of the most ferocious linebacker duo in recent memory. They made history by becoming the first teammates to record 100-plus defensive tackles in the same CFL season. After proving he is still capable of catching attention south of the border, Bighill exercised a clause in his contract that allowed him to pursue NFL opportunities until January 27th. Just over three weeks ahead of that deadline, number 44 agreed to a three-year contract with the New Orleans Saints.

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Along with getting a chance to stick in the Big Easy as a linebacker, Bighill should also be a solid special teams contributor for Sean Payton’s team. At this stage of his career, any NFL situation would be worth taking a flyer on. But the Saints represent a unique situation. Although father time may be starting to catch up to quarterback Drew Brees, he and Payton still make up one of the better head coach/QB tandem’s in all of pro football. New Orleans is also a great environment to play in as the locals worship their beloved Saints. The NFC South was one of the more competitive divisions this season and there is no reason to believe 7-9 Saints shouldn’t be in a position to fight for a playoff spot next season. That of course will all depend on how the rest of their off-season and the draft plays out.

But as for today, we should all reflect on the great impact Bighill left on the Lions organization. Along with establishing himself as one of the best defenders in the league, Bighill was a Grey Cup champion in 2011, a four-time CFL all-star selection and won the CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award in 2015, the same season Elimimian went down with his Achilles injury in August.

Defensive coordinator Mark Washington admits he will be tough to replace, but that also comes with the territory when you must overcome obstacles to win in this business.

“I’m very happy for Adam and his family to have the opportunity to go down south and to play with an organization like the Saints. I think he’ll do well for,” Washington said.

“At the same time, we’re going to miss him here. He’s a great person, outstanding player and a leader on our team. But we have to move on. We have to begin to adjust and do the the things that we need to do so that we can continue to put ourselves in a position to win the Grey Cup. We have our work cut out for us because that’s a gigantic void to fill. We do have players on the horizon, guys that we’re looking at. It’s about fitting into the defence that we’ve already structured.”