Janarion Grant

Janarion Grant

Grant with the Toronto Argonauts in 2024
No. 3 – Toronto Argonauts
Position:	Return specialist
Personal information
Born:	(1993-11-20) November 20, 1993 (age 30) Trilby, Florida, U.S.
Height:	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:	173 lb (78 kg)
Career information
High school:	Pasco (Dade City, Florida)
College:	Rutgers
Undrafted:	2018
Career history
Baltimore Ravens (2018) Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2019)* Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2019–2023) Toronto Argonauts (2024–present)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:	Active
CFL status:	American
Career highlights and awards
2× Grey Cup champion (2019, 2021) CFL All-Star (2022) CFL West All-Star (2022) Second-team All-Big Ten (2015) Second-team All-AAC (2013)
Career NFL statistics
Kick return yards: 56 Punt return yards: 52 Return touchdowns: 0
Player stats at CFL.ca

Janarion Grant (born November 20, 1993) is an American professional football return specialist for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He won the 107th Grey Cup with the Blue Bombers when they defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33–12. He played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and signed with the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2018.^[1]

College career

Grant attended and played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights from 2013 to 2017.^[2] He was a returner in college over five seasons. He recorded 115 kick returns for 2,857 net yards and five kick return touchdowns to go along with 52 punt returns for 588 net yards and three punt return touchdowns.^[3]

Collegiate statistics

Year	School	Class	Pos	G	Kick Ret	Yds	Avg	TD	Punt Ret	Yds	Avg	TD
2013	Rutgers	FR	WR	12	21	517	24.6	1	17	156	9.2	1
2014	Rutgers	SO	WR	11	36	910	25.3	0	6	45	7.5	0
2015	Rutgers	JR	WR	12	40	984	24.6	3	12	167	13.9	1
2016	Rutgers	SR	WR	4	6	195	32.5	1	7	112	16.0	1
2017	Rutgers	SR	WR	7	12	251	20.9	0	10	108	10.8	0
Career	Rutgers				115	2,857	24.8	5	52	588	11.3	3

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

Grant signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent on May 7, 2018.^[4] He made the Ravens final roster as the team's primary kick and punt returner. However, on September 22, 2018, Grant was waived by the Ravens after two fumbles in as many games.^[5] He was re-signed to the practice squad on September 25, 2018.^[6]

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Grant signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on June 3, 2019. He was added to the practice roster after training camp, but was released on June 18, 2019.^[7]

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Grant was signed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on July 23, 2019.^[8] He scored his first and second CFL touchdowns on August 8, 2019, in his first CFL game on punt returns against the Calgary Stampeders.^[9] His 222 punt-return yards in the game set a Blue Bombers franchise record and ranked as the third-highest single-game in CFL history behind only Gizmo Williams 232 in 1991 and Keith Stokes 224 vs Montreal in 2002.^[10] Grant finished the season with three punt return touchdowns and also had one missed FG returned for 61 yards.^[10] Grants abilities on special teams helped the team as they would go on to win the 2019 Grey Cup against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

After the CFL canceled the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Grant chose to opt-out of his contract with the Blue Bombers on August 31, 2020.^[11] He signed a one-year contract extension with Winnipeg on February 4, 2021.^[12] Once again, Grant brought his electric punt return skills to the field as he averaged 11 yards a punt return through the 2021 season. This included another touchdown return for 63 yards against the BC Lions on October 23. In the CFL West Division final against Saskatchewan, Grant returned a missed field goal for 58 yards to the Winnipeg 39 yard-line. This led to an Andrew Harris touchdown as the Bombers would win 21-17 on their way to their second consecutive Grey Cup.^[13] Grant and the Bombers would win the 108th Grey Cup, their second title in a row with a 33-25 victory in overtime against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. After becoming a free agent in February 2022, Grant and the Bombers agreed to a new contract on April 13, 2022.^[14] He played for the Blue Bombers for two more seasons before becoming a free agent on February 13, 2024.^[15]

Toronto Argonauts

On May 28, 2024, it was announced that Grant had signed with the Toronto Argonauts.^[16]

Professional statistics

Year	Team	G	Kick Ret	Yds	Avg	Long	TD	Punt Ret	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
2019	WPG	11	25	600	23.0	74	0	41	591	14.4	83	3
2020	WPG	Season cancelled
2021	WPG	6	12	283	23.6	33	0	34	375	11.0	63	1
2022	WPG	16	31	782	25.2	97	1	63	817	13.0	94	2
2023	WPG	8	19	426	22.4	43	0	36	473	13.1	92	1
CFL totals		41	87	2,091	24.0	97	1	174	2,256	13.0	94	7

References

External links

Active roster1-Game Injured list6-game injured listPractice rosterSuspended list