It’s been a long road back to full health for Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive tackle Cam Lawson.
Lawson finally joined the rest of his teammates in training camp this week after being off the field for a full calendar year.
Lawson tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee in the pre-season a year ago and missed the entire 2024 campaign. As a result, he’s just thrilled to be practicing again after last playing a game in November of 2023.
“It’s euphoric,” Lawson told reporters after Tuesday’s practice. “Getting to hit people, playing football, playing the game you love, especially after a long and arduous like rehab process. It’s great to be back.
“I’m coming to play ball and I’m bigger than I was in 2023 and just as fast, just as strong, and so I’m ready to make some plays and get back out there.”
Lawson called the year-long rehab process the toughest thing he’s had to go through, both in his career and in life. But he initially thought the injury wasn’t very serious.
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“I came off and my leg felt like a little unstable, like a little weird,” said Lawson. “So, I was like, oh, I’ll get it checked out at half. Went inside and the doctor is like, yeah, we’ll do the Lachman test. So he checked my knee out and he’s like, you don’t have an ACL, and I was like alright.
“Right after I found out, I think I was in the locker room. I called my mom and I was like, that was the hard part. That was probably one of the hardest phone calls I’ve ever had to make.”
Lawson had just started to make a big impact before the injury after recording five sacks and an interception with the blue and gold in 2023. He was given the option to play through the injury but opted for surgery to ensure the long-term stability of his knee.
“They were even considering just like rehabbing for like six weeks and putting a brace on it and play the season.” Lawson said. “But, obviously that’s a little risky, so I decided to go the surgery route.”
It was a long road to recovery for the 26-year-old who’s now entering his fourth year with the team and fifth in CFL after originally breaking into the league with the Montreal Alouettes.
“I’m almost like 290 (pounds),” he said. “It was like landing on it early in rehab obviously didn’t feel great, but we pushed through it, and you grind through the pain.”
Lawson will now be playing with a knee brace.
“He’s just dying to play,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea. “I think the guys are excited for him that he’s getting out there. Everybody knows how hard these guys work.”
Lawson will likely get his first chance to test out his surgically repaired knee on Friday when the Bombers close out their exhibition schedule against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
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