Banjo Bowl 2007

[Only The Lonely..]

Khari Jones to retire as Blue Bomber

Oct. 17 | Winnipeg Sun Developing Stories

Quarterback Khari Jones has been signed to a contract that will allow him to officially retire as a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers the team announced today.

“Khari Jones’ contributions to this football club both on the field and in the community were immeasurable,” said Bombers President and CEO Lyle Bauer.

“To this day Bomber fans continue to speak about Khari in the most glowing of terms. Having said that, it seems only appropriate he should officially retire from the game as a member of the Blue and Gold.”

Jones said today’s signing brought back a flood of precious memories.

“I feel honoured to have the opportunity to retire from professional football as a Winnipeg Blue Bomber,” Jones said. “My time in Winnipeg was truly the best time of my career. I'm thankful to the Winnipeg fans for the support they gave me and my family.”


Jones was one of the best quarterbacks to ever don Blue and Gold. Following his arrival in a trade with the B.C. Lions on Feb. 28, 2000, Jones went on to rewrite the Bomber record book during the next four seasons with the team.

In 2000, Jones took over the starting QB duties midway through the season and never looked back. He got his first start as a Bomber on July 28, 2000 against the Montreal Alouettes and completed 27-of-48 passes for three touchdowns and a whopping 448 yards, which ranked as the eighth best single-game passing yardage mark in team history at that point.

Jones was traded to the Calgary Stampeders in September 2004 as part of a deal that saw defensive end Joe Fleming, safety Wes Lysack and fullback Scott Regimbald join the Big Blue.

He joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as a free agent in 2005 and saw action in eight games with the Tabbies. He signed with the Edmonton Eskimos as a free agent in 2006 but did not see any action before leaving the sidelines for the broadcast booth when he joined the CFL on CBC team.

Jones still ranks first in several individual Bomber statistical categories including most passing yardage in a season (5,334 yards in 2002), most consecutive 3,000-yard passing seasons (four), most passing completions in a season (382 in 2002). Last year, Jones and Bomber slotback Milt Stegall were voted the Making the Connection tandem as the CFL’s top quarterback-and-receiver pairing of all time.

Bomber fans will have a chance to meet Khari Jones and Milt Stegall at the Bomber Store during a special autograph session this afternoon from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.