THE CANADIAN PRESS
WINNIPEG — Milt Stegall’s decision to return to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for a 14th CFL season was made with his heart and his head.
The CFL’s all-time touchdown leader announced his return Thursday during a conference call from his Atlanta home, saying that it took him a while to make the decision because he had to sort out some business matters and family developments.
His wife Darlene is pregnant and due in the summer. She will join him in Winnipeg during the season with their three-year-old son Chase.
He also had to find people to look after he and his wife’s businesses.
"There were a lot of things that went into play with (my decision)," said Stegall, who turned 38 last Friday. "The most important being that, like I always say, I think we’ve got a great chance of winning the Grey Cup.
"Coach (Doug) Berry and everybody there, they’ve put together a great atmosphere, a great team and I want to be a part of that."
Stegall has never won the Grey Cup and didn’t speak to reporters for two days after the Bombers lost last year’s championship to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
"My wife, she saw how much I wanted to win that game and she saw the passion and she said, `You know, we’ll think about some things,"’ said Stegall.
He led all receivers with five catches for 85 yards in the Grey Cup game. The loss gave the Bombers the dubious distinction of having the CFL’s longest championship drought, with their last title coming in 1990.
During last season, Stegall said he was 99.9 per cent sure it would be his final year. Now he’s not putting a number on it.
"I’m taking it day by day," he said. "I’m not giving you guys any ammunition."
Stegall broke the CFL all-time TD record of 137 held by former running backs George Reed and Mike Pringle in July and finished the season with 144 career TDs.
The six-time all-star and 2002 CFL outstanding player had 69 catches for 1,108 yards (seventh in the league), his ninth consecutive 1,000-yard season.
The next record on the slotback’s horizon is Allen Pitts’ all-time CFL receiving yardage record of 14,891. Stegall is 196 yards back of that mark.
It was revealed during the off-season that Stegall played most of the second half with a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder. He said he’s working out and that playing through injuries is just part of the game.
Berry said Stegall has had surgery on the shoulder. The coach admires his player’s determination.
"He fought his way through it," said Berry. "He knew he was going to need surgery in the off-season, we were just hoping it wouldn’t get worse as the season went along. He was able to still compete at a tremendous level.
"I really think he’s a very competitive person. He’s a tremendous leader. There’s a lot of intangibles that go along with it and Milt is very valuable in my estimation to this football team."
Bombers quarterback Kevin Glenn, who missed the Grey Cup after breaking his non-throwing arm during the East Division final against Toronto, was happy to hear about Stegall’s return.
"From his football ability to his personality, his character on and off the field, I think it’s a good fit for the team," Glenn said from his Detroit home. "Just to be around him, he brings a lot of enthusiasm and excitement to the locker-room and the team and everything — I just want to be the quarterback that gets him to that Cup and try to win the Cup."
Glenn is in his third week of lifting weights and is on the road to recovery.
Stegall said lining up with receivers such as Derick Armstrong and Terrence Edwards and having Charles Roberts in the backfield means he won’t necessarily have to catch 15 or 20 passes a game and be the go-to guy this year.
"The fact that I don’t have to do those things just makes it easier on me," he said. "It takes a little bit more pounding off of my body and, hopefully, it allows us to just have a better chance of winning games."
.Stegall signed his contract for a year and an option on Wednesday.
When asked if it included a pay cut, Stegall, who reportedly made more than $200,000 last season, said he and general manager Brendan Taman did some "creative financing."
Taman said Stegall knew the team’s salary-cap challenges and his contract was structured so both sides benefited. Parts of a contract such as signing bonuses are taxed at a different rate than base salary so it puts more money into a player’s pocket.
"He made some sacrifices," said Taman, adding that Stegall will "probably not" be the highest-paid receiver on the team.
