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The Canadian Football League is set to kick off its 2019 Grey Cup championship game, and two former New Orleans Saints players are set to compete for it — on opposing sidelines. Former Saints cornerback Delvin Breaux is leading the Hamilton Tiger-Cats while ex-Saints linebacker Adam Bighill is running the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defense.
While it’s a fascinating lens to view the game through, it’s great to see both players having success after their time with the Saints came to an end. A series of injuries forced Breaux, a New Orleans native, to return to the CFL. He’s since signed a three-year contract extension with Hamilton after joining Bighill on the 2018 CFL West All-Stars team. He’s still an ardent Saints fan to this day, and has recorded 26 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble in 10 games.
As for Bighill: he went back to the CFL unsatisfied with his Saints experience, having spent extended time on the practice squad before getting a handful of snaps with the special teams units in his first year with New Orleans. His performance in 2018 earned the award for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player, as well as a three-year contract extension that made him the CFL’s highest-paid player on defense. Bighill has appeared in 15 games this year, racking up 61 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles.
Saints fans interested in watching Saturday’s Grey Cup finale between Breaux’s Ticats and Bighill’s Bombers can tune into ESPN2 at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT. It’s a shame that neither Breaux nor Bighill had enduring, productive careers with New Orleans, but it’s terrific to see them still scuceeding.
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