Westerman heads East; signs deal with Alouettes
MONTREAL — Montreal GM Kavis Reed continues to re-tool his club’s defence.
After signing Tommie Campbell and Mitchell White, Reed has gone out and signed national rush end Jamaal Westerman to a two-year contract.
The deal was announced Wednesday afternoon, one day after the start of free agency.
“We are thrilled to have signed Jamaal and to be able to reunite him with his brother on our defensive line. Jamaal is a disruptive force on the field who leads by example,” said Alouettes general manager Kavis Reed. “Not only did we get better on defence with this move, but we also changed our ratio.”
Westerman was listed at no. 17 on CFL.ca’s Top 30 Pending Free Agents List last month and will now play alongside his brother, Jabar, in Montreal.
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Westerman collected seven sacks in 11 games in 2017 before a season-ending upper body injury sidelined him for the rest of the year.
The Brooklyn, N.Y. native joined the Bombers in 2015 after spending five seasons in the NFL. In 47 games in Winnipeg, Westerman has tallied 118 tackles, 32 sacks and four forced fumbles. He was also named a West Division All-Star and was the West Division nominee for Most Outstanding Canadian in 2015.
In 58 career games in the NFL with the New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Billsand Pittsburgh Steelers, he accumulated 45 tackles and six quarterback sacks, while forcing a fumble and recovering four. The former Rutgers University Scarlet Knight completed his collegiate career with 141 tackles, including 45 for losses.
His 26 career sacks ranked him third highest in Rutgers school history.
Westerman gives new coach Mike Sherman an instant ratio-breaker on the defensive side of the ball. Arguably the most impactful Canadian defensive end in the CFL, he and his brother Jabar give Montreal a strong Canadian presence on their defensive front.
