Just like the rest of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Tony Jones is still stinging from the loss in the 111th Grey Cup. Still cursing the team’s overall performance, too.

Yet, after putting his name on a two-year contract extension with the club on Wednesday the veteran linebacker was already back in the gym at his home base in Orlando, FL and eager for the 2025 season to start ASAP.

“I’m already back it. I’m super-excited,” said Jones, stepping outside the gym to take a call from bluebombers.com. “I can’t wait to get back at it and I’m going to take this offseason to the next level.

“I told myself after the loss I was going to wait a few weeks and then get things rolling but as soon as I got back it was, ‘Yeah, I can’t sit around like this’ and I’m back to it.

Dumped by the Edmonton Elks during training camp this year — a move which raised eyebrows across the Canadian Football League — Jones was instantly scooped up by the Blue Bombers. It turned out to be a critical addition for the team after injuries to veteran linebackers Kyrie Wilson and Adam Bighill during the season and with Jones stepping in to start at both spots for 11 games, plus the Western Final and Grey Cup.

Playing in 12 games, Jones finished third on the team with 60 total tackles with 49 on defence and 11 more on special teams, while adding an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble return.

“The Grey Cup was tough,” he said. “That was my first time to experience it and I was so excited for that opportunity. Obviously, we fell short. All of us, I feel like, we didn’t play our best football at all. I believe we were the better team, but we just didn’t show it that night and they did. I don’t know what it was, but we came out kinda flat.

“I had my time dealing with it and now I’m on to thinking about next year and how I can help the team get us back to the same spot and come out on the other end next time.”

Jones met with head coach Mike O’Shea and defensive coordinator Jordan Younger after the season and it wasn’t long after he was putting his name on his new deal.

“It went smoothly. After I talked to JY and Osh at the end of the year before I went home, we were all on the same page,” he said. “I had some comfort in that and when I got home, I was in and out of talks with my agent Fred (Weinrauch) and he had been in touch with Kyle (Walters, Blue Bombers GM) and they started working on my contract.

“I’m ready to get back to Winnipeg already. I’m ready for the season to start right now. I’m just itching to play. I told Fred I wanted to be back in Winnipeg. It’s the culture, the team, the city, the fans, the organization, the coaches… I really feel like we’ve got the best of the best all-round.”

Those words are heartfelt because his experience at the end of his days in Edmonton was a low point. Living through that and then rebounding to more than just salvage his season in Winnipeg has given him a different perspective on the business of the sport and the importance of fit.

“That situation in Edmonton was completely surprising. We had numerous talks between me and Geroy (Simon) and Chris Jones and I was being told I was the guy,” he recalled. “I would check in weekly about how I could get better and what I needed to do. I kept hearing, ‘just keep doing what you’re doing.’ So, when the day (of his release) came, I really didn’t see it coming. I got the ‘bring your playbook; we’re going another way’ talk.

“Those were the dark hours. I was asking myself the questions, ‘How?’ and ‘Where am I going to end up?’ So, for me to end up in Winnipeg and things to turn out the way it did, I just feel so fortunate.

“Ever since I’ve got there it’s been, ‘This is football. This is the way an organization is supposed to be run. This is what it feels like to have the right teammates around you and how coaching is supposed to be.’

“Everything about this team… there’s a special brotherhood,” he added. “I feel we have the best of everything, and I’m being coached by hall of famers. That’s why I was able to play fast and pick up everything. I had teammates who believed in me and coaches that believed in me, and it all worked out. I feel like I went through those trials and tribulations to get to where I am now.

“The vibe I get in Winnipeg is we’re going to teach you and that’s helping me take my game to another level. I’m entering my prime now, I believe, and these coaches and my teammates have so much faith in me. I’m so dialled in every day.