As Bear Woods slowly walked around BMO Field, he mingled from player to player, introductions to new teammates mixing with the goodbyes that he wasn’t able to say to his former teammates two weeks ago.
Life can throw curveballs at you, and sometimes it can stand on the mound, eye you up, lift its knee high and hurl something straight at your head. Hit by life’s pitch, released by the Alouettes at 5:30 in the morning on the second day of the Alouettes training camp, Woods used the last couple of weeks to shake it off. He officially took his base in Toronto on Wednesday, coming to terms with the Argos.
On Thursday, with the Argos hosting the Als for their first games of the preseason, Woods had enough cameras and microphones in front of him to fire some shots back, if he wanted.
The 30-year-old linebacker, who was named the East Division’s best defensive player in two of the last three years, chose against it.
“I’ve had three people my entire life who have said, ‘This is my guy.’ One is my father, one is my grandfather and the third guy is Jim Popp”
– Argonauts LB Bear Woods
“I guess (I was) surprised but at age 30, knowing pro ball, expect the unexpected,” he said. “I had a lot of clarity at that point too. There’s lots left of life and I was ready for the next part of the journey.”
Told by Als GM Kavis Reed that the team wanted to go younger at his position — “my exact response was I thought I was still relatively young,” Woods said he told him — Woods packed up his truck, got an offer from Argos GM Jim Popp, and went home to his family in Wetumpka, Alabama. He collected his thoughts and returned to sign with the club.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” he said. “But I got to go home and see my wife and my kids. And you put it in perspective and see what life’s all about. I was able to have that time at home and see them, able to go to church on Sunday and see people who care about Bear Woods the person and not Bear Woods the football player. That was a good chance for me to reset and be thankful for this opportunity.”
There are plenty of familiar faces waiting for Woods with the Argos. Popp brought him into the league in 2011, giving him two seasons with coach Marc Trestman. Woods mentioned slotback S.J. Green and running back Brandon Whitaker, both who came in on the Als’ practice roster and blossomed into stars.
“Toronto’s where I wanted to be. I think looking back, Jim Popp has stood by my side throughout my whole career,” he said.
“I’ve had three people my entire life who have said, ‘This is my guy.’ One is my father, one is my grandfather and the third guy is Jim Popp. He gave me this opportunity to go home and let that offer stay on the table. This is where I wanted to be and I think he knew this was where I’d end up wanting to be also.”
His new coaches are excited about what he can bring to a team that was overhauled in the offseason, aiming to leave its league-worst defence in the rearview.
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“Bear Woods is coming into a very competitive situation,” said Trestman, who had a similar on-field walk to Woods’ on Thursday, greeting people he knew from his time with the Als.
“We know what he’s done, we know what he’s accomplished. I’ve had the opportunity to be around him and coach him, I know what he’s going to bring. But he’s going to have to go in there and practice this week and show he’s ready to play.”
Argos’ defensive coordinator Corey Chamblin said that they’d gauge where Woods is with the defence, how quickly he can pick up the terminology and go from there. With a good week of practice, he’ll get into next Friday’s game in Hamilton against the Tiger-Cats.
“Hopefully by Week 1, 2 or 3 he’ll be settled in and he can help us,” Chamblin said.
In his 10-minute availability, there were many chances for Woods to throw his former team under the bus. Reed stood maybe 30 yards away on the sideline at BMO Field, while two rosters’ worth of current and former teammates were nearby, but he wasn’t interested in that.
There’s no bitterness, he said, and added that he wished Reed the best when he walked out the door of the team’s camp in Lennoxville, Que. There’s a difference between bitterness and wounded pride, though, and that’s laced into Woods’ words.
“When I left Atlanta, when they cut me (in the NFL) and when I left Montreal, I was able to say that no one outworked me,” he said. “I’m the first one in I’m one of the last ones out. I watch film, I prepare, I work out, I’m the standard.
“I can definitely say I’m the standard and when you don’t want that standard anymore, you let him go, they need a new standard over there. When I lay my head down at night I know I’ve done the best that I could for me and my family or whatever organization I’m a part of and this one now is Toronto.”
He looked at the people asking him questions and said it all seemed simple to him.
“This league needs this storyline,” he said. “You have Jim Popp and Marc Trestman in Toronto in the same division when guys are being ousted in Montreal, coming here? Y’alls guys job is easy this year, covering this story. I look forward to it as a fan of the league.”