“Just having a blast out here,” Aaron Grymes said after a recent Eskimos practice on a chilly morning at The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium.
It didn’t matter that the weather is getting colder and snow could fall at any time. The 26-year-old defensive back is playing football again.
“I’m having so much fun right now, I can’t even describe it with words,” Grymes said. “Getting out there with my teammates, being able to get on the field for long periods of time again and playing football, man. This is what I wanted to do as a kid growing up playing football. Playing on the field is my dream.”
Grymes, who rejoined the Eskimos in late September, had mostly been on the sidelines since winning the 2015 Grey Cup with Edmonton. He tried each of the last two years to crack the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles roster, but played only one game as a special teams player.
“I feel like I’m still progressing, still getting more and more comfortable,” said Grymes, who had 16 defensive tackles, a forced fumble, a knockdown and a tackle for a loss during his first three games with the Eskimos this fall.
“I’m not 100 per cent where I want to be right now. I can still take another couple of steps in terms of trying to be perfect because that’s what I’m striving for. But I feel really comfortable playing with the guys around me and I think they’re getting comfortable with me, as well.
“I’ll continue to try to make plays for my team in the crunch time and get the coaches to trust me, my defensive players to trust me and rally the guys. If all else fails, try to bring some energy to the field.”
Grymes is learning a new position with the Eskimos – the boundary or weak-side defensive halfback position – as he tries to shake off the rust of the last 1-1/2 years as a practice player.
“On the strong side, there’s a lot of field you have to cover,” Grymes said of the position he played during his first three seasons with the Eskimos. “A lot of guys try to run away from you, create separation. Whereas in the boundary, there’s a lot less room, so things are happening a little bit quicker. The ball might come out quicker, the guy might break his route off quicker.”
Grymes rushed up to knock down a Ricky Ray pass at the Eskimos 37-yard-line with 31 seconds remaining during Edmonton’s victory over the Toronto Argonauts on Oct. 14.
“He was an all-star when he left and he’s showed no signs of slowing down and no signs of rust,” Eskimos head coach Jason Maas said. “He’s just got better if you ask me. He’s playing a different position in the CFL and he’s playing it like he’s played it a long time.”
Grymes also popped the ball loose with a big hit on Winnipeg receiver Julian Feoli-Gudino to stop a Winnipeg drive at the Edmonton 21 in his first game back with the Green and Gold on Sept. 30. It was also his first game playing defence in a regular-season game in almost two years.
“When you can make a play like that early in the game to help your team out to light a spark, those kind of things help out a lot,” he said. “The first quarter, I was just so amped up and ready to play, I had to calm myself down on the sidelines, so I took a few deep breaths.
“But I caught my second wind and I felt good, I didn’t cramp at all. None of that kind of stuff that you usually get in your first game back, so I felt great.”
Grymes is exactly where he wants to be right now, and maybe in the future, as well, although he said his NFL experience “was absolutely awesome” despite the lack of playing time.
“It was a dream come true,” he said. “I couldn’t trade it for anything. Last pre-season, I made some plays and put myself in a position to make the roster. I went through the off-season, did pretty well and put myself in a position to make the roster again this year. Things just didn’t go in my favour.
“I had some of the best times in my life down there, but probably the most fun time ever playing football was when I was in Edmonton those three years (2013-15). I definitely was happy to come back.”
Grymes impressed a lot of observers with his play during the Eagles’ training camp in 2016 until he injured his shoulder making a spectacular diving interception in the end zone.
“That was by far the best play I made there, but it wasn’t my only play,” he said. “I had a pretty solid camp going. It definitely turned some heads and it’s what kept me there for that time.”
He was waived through the NFL after hurting his shoulder, re-signed partway through the season and played one game on special teams in November 2016.
“That’s always been a childhood dream of mine,” said Grymes. “My wife and daughter got to be there to see me play my very first NFL game, so it was a pretty awesome experience.”
Grymes made another strong run to make the Eagles this season, playing corner, nickel and even safety in the last pre-season game.
“I took it as an opportunity to show my versatility,” he said. “I can play more than one thing. I pride myself on understanding the playbook at multiple positions.”
Unfortunately, the Eagles opted to keep different players and Grymes was cut loose at the end of training camp.
“It’s awesome to be back,” he said upon returning to Edmonton. “I got a warm welcoming from the teammates, from Brock (Sunderland, the Eskimos general manager & VP of football ops.), from the coaches and a warm welcome on social media from the fans.”
Like wide receiver Derel Walker earlier in September, Grymes signed a contract that allows him to become a free agent at the end of the season, just in case any NFL teams come knocking at his door this winter.
In the meantime, he retrieved his former Eskimos’ jersey (No. 36) by making a deal with rookie cornerback Arjen Colquhoun and is back in his former locker, courtesy of equipment manager Dwayne Mandrusiak.
“I’m pretty much done with the whole (NFL) experience for now. I’m here with the Edmonton Eskimos trying to win a Grey Cup,” Grymes said.
His timing to return to the Esks couldn’t have come at a better time. The secondary had been hit hard with injuries, changing four starters the previous week and three starters three times within seven games.
“I knew that they needed a little help, but whether they were fully healthy and 13-0 or 0-13, Edmonton was where I wanted to play,” said the 2015 CFL all-star defensive halfback. “I looked at the roster and, at one-point, there was twenty-something people on the six-game (injured list) and there’s still a high number (19) right now.”
Grymes also kept track of the Esks last year, when they lost the East Division final in the snow at Ottawa, and knew about the seven-game winning streak to start this season and the losing skid the team was on when he signed.
He called several teammates – defensive back Marcel Young, injured middle linebacker J.C. Sherritt and defensive end Odell Willis – before his agent agreed to terms with the Eskimos and he jumped in his truck and drove to Edmonton from Moscow, Idaho.
“I knew I wanted to come back to Edmonton,” he said. “I didn’t call them to see if I should come back. It was, ‘I’m coming back. Now help me get a head start on coming back. What defence am I going to be running when I do come back? And also, how has the locker room been? What can I bring to the locker room? Where would I fit right now with you guys?’ ”
After a season of turmoil, with 10 different combinations of 12 starting players and a total of 25 changes among starters in the five positions of the defensive backfield, the Eskimos are getting back to where they wanted to be when the season started.
Colquhoun returned to the wide-side cornerback position last week at B.C. after missing most of the previous 10 games with injuries while veterans Johnny Adams is at the other corner and Brandyn Thompson mans the wide-side defensive halfback posititon. Cauchy Muamba has been the starting safety the last two games.