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 two Grey Cup championships with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. 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]
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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]
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]
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]
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]
On May 28, 2024, it was announced that Grant had signed with the Toronto Argonauts.[16]
