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Wooing Willie: Argos, Ticats meet with Jefferson

TORONTO — The biggest fish in the free agency pond is set to hit the market on Tuesday, and ahead of the big day, defensive lineman Willie Jefferson was out East taking meetings with potential suitors.

It started with a report that Jefferson was headed to Toronto to meet with the Argonauts. That was confirmed shortly after by a video from his wife, Holly, showing their daughter Kelley getting her favourite Timbits from the airport.

From there, the Jefferson’s paid a visit to Scotiabank Arena, alongside Argonauts general manager Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons to take in a game between the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors and the Brooklyn Nets.

Jefferson and his family weren’t done with meetings, however. They made the trip up the QEW to pay a visit to the team that Jefferson went up against in the 107th Grey Cup presented by Shaw: The Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

The 2019 East Division champions rolled out the red carpet for the veteran, doing an edit of him in the Black and Gold. They also had jerseys set up for all three of the Jeffersons in the team’s locker room at Tim Hortons Field.

They didn’t miss the mark on Timbits, either, as Kelley got to go home with an assorted box and 24 Timbit roses ahead of Valentine’s Day.

While he was being wined and dined by the pair of East teams, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers had something to say via social media.

After hearing pitches from both the teams, the 29-year-old said he’d reveal who he’d be playing for in 2020 if he reached 7,000 followers. He passed that mark, but we’re all still waiting to hear where he’s headed.

Jefferson was ranked first on CFL.ca’s Top 30 Pending Free Agents list. He reportedly has up to six teams that are looking to acquire his services.