The Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League have come to terms with German defensive end Thiadric Hansen for the 2021 season.
Hansen was released by the Bombers last August after the cancellation of the CFL’s 2020 season. He then signed with the Wroclaw Panthers of Poland’s Liga Futbou Amerykanskiego and helped his squad capture the league title with a victory over the Bialystok Lowlanders in the final. For his efforts, Hansen was a unanimous selection to the AFI All-Pandemic Team.
The 6’2″, 243 pound 27-year-old Hansen, a native of Flensburg, Germany was the crown jewel of the Canadian Football League Global Initiative. He was selected 2nd overall in the 2019 CFL European Draft after posting outstanding numbers including a 38″ vertical (best among global players and third overall). He converted from linebacker to defensive end with the Bombers and grew into a key part of the defensive line rotation by the end of the season. Hansen suited up in every Bombers game and recorded five tackles, a sack and two forced fumbles in limited playing time. His role increased as the season progressed and he contributed with two memorable plays in the 2019 Grey Cup playoff run – a critical tackle on one of the two goal-line stands in the Western Final win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders and then a colossal hit on a kickoff return in the Grey Cup that levelled two Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Hansen spent the six seasons with the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes in the GFL before signing to play with the Potsdam Royals. From 2012 to 2018, he recorded 527 tackles plus 62 tackles for loss, leading the team in tackles from 2016 to 2018.
