Matt Nichols

Matt Nichols (born March 19, 1987) is an American professional Canadian football quarterback who is currently playing for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Nichols played college football at Eastern Washington. He has also been a member of the Dallas Cowboys, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and Edmonton Eskimos.

Matt Nichols
No. 15     Toronto Argonauts
Nichols in 2016
Born: (1987-03-19) March 19, 1987
Redding, California
Career information
CFL statusAmerican
Position(s)QB
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight215 lb (98 kg)
CollegeEastern Washington
High schoolWest Valley
NFL draft2010 / Undrafted
HandRight
Career history
As player
2010Dallas Cowboys*
2010–2015Edmonton Eskimos
2015–2019Winnipeg Blue Bombers
2020–presentToronto Argonauts
Career highlights and awards
Career stats

College career

Nichols was a four-year starter at Eastern Washington, where he compiled 996 completions on 1608 attempts (62%) for 12,616 yards, 96 touchdowns and 46 interceptions in 47 games (42 starts). Nichols' career passing yards are the most in Big Sky Conference history and ranks sixth overall in NCAA history. Nichols also holds the school record for touchdown passes with 96 and was named the 2007 and 2009 Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year. The Business Management major attended college with former Winnipeg Blue Bomber defensive end Greg Peach.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Nichols attended training camp with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2010 and appeared in two pre-season games, recording 10 completions in 16 attempts for 81 yards and two interceptions. He was released on August 19.

Edmonton Eskimos

Nichols was signed as a free agent by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League on October 13, 2010. Nichols spent the next three games on the practice roster before being released on November 2. On February 4, 2011, he was re-signed by Edmonton through the end of the 2012 season. In the playoffs of the 2012 CFL season Nichols sustained a devastating broken leg injury. He worked hard all off-season in order to be able to play for the 2013 CFL season. Entering the 2013 CFL season Nichols was in open competition with Mike Reilly for the starting quarterback job.[1] Nichols was awarded the start for the first preseason game on June 14, 2013. However, he left the game early on after attempting to tackle a player after throwing an interception. The tests revealed that he had torn ACL and required surgery; this caused him to miss the entire 2013 season.[2] In the offseason, Nichols was signed to a two-year contract extension through the 2015 CFL season.[3]

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Nichols was traded to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, on September 2, 2015. Nichols played in numerous games for the Bombers in 2015, due in large part to various injuries to starting quarterback Drew Willy. Nichols started the 2016 season as the backup to Drew Willy, however following a 1–4 start to the season head-coach Mike O'Shea announced that Nichols would be the starting quarterback for their week 6 match-up against Edmonton.[4] In 2016, Nichols began his tenure as the Bombers starting quarterback with 7 wins in a row propelling the Bombers to a record of 8–4. The Bombers would finish the season with a record of 11–7, finishing 3rd place in the Western Division. In the playoffs the Bombers were unable to hold onto a 19-point lead over the BC Lions, falling 32–31 thus ending their 2016 campaign.[5] Drew Willy was traded in the middle of the season, and veteran quarterback Kevin Glenn was released in January 2017, confirming the Bombers belief that he could be their starting quarterback for the foreseeable future. This sentiment was reinforced when they signed him to a 3-year contract extension on January 18, 2017.[6] Nichols had a breakout 2017 season, setting career highs in every major category (attempts, completions, yards, touchdowns). Nichols led the Bombers to a 12-6 record, clinching a home playoff game; however, the team was defeated by the Eskimos in the first round.[7]

During the lead up to the start of the 2018 season Nichols suffered a non-contact knee injury in practice, and it was announced he would miss four to six weeks, returning in four as he made his 2018 debut on July 7 against the BC Lions.[8] Nichols had a strong season for the Blue Bombers, leading the team to a record of 10-8 and a playoff berth. The Bombers advanced to the West division finals after defeating the Saskatchewan Roughriders 23-18 on the road, but was unable to overcome the Calgary Stampeders who went on to win the 106th Grey Cup. Nichols was having an outstanding 2019 season and was leading the league in touchdown passes (15) and passer rating (107.2), but suffered an upper-body injury in Week 10 against the BC Lions which caused him to be placed on the six-game injured reserve.[9] On September 26, 2019 it was revealed that Nichols underwent shoulder surgery which meant that he would remain sidelined for the remainder of the 2019 season.[10] Teammate Chris Streveler took over the helm and the Bombers traded for Zach Collaros, these two quarterbacks would go on to help the team win their first championship in 29 years at the 107th Grey Cup. Collaros was signed to a two-year extension in January 2020 following the Grey Cup and the team released Nichols early on January 28, 2020 so that he could find a role as a starter in the CFL.[11]

Toronto Argonauts

Nichols signed with the Toronto Argonauts on February 7, 2020.[12]

Career statistics
  Passing   Rushing
Year Team GA GS Att Comp Pct Yards TD Int Rating Att Yards Avg Long TD Fumb
2012 EDM 18 2 83 48 57.8 884 7 3 107.7 10 76 7.6 19 1 3
2014 EDM 18 4 151 94 62.3 1,014 4 5 77.0 16 41 2.6 6 2 2
2015 EDM 9 7 209 128 61.2 1,488 8 10 75.6 10 21 2.1 7 0 3
WPG 9 7 248 149 60.1 1,757 10 7 83.4 19 112 5.9 23 0 2
2016 WPG 18 13 471 327 69.4 3,666 18 9 97.1 35 90 2.6 15 6 0
2017 WPG 18 17 579 411 71.0 4,472 28 8 103.8 26 188 7.2 41 2 5
2018 WPG 15 14 392 254 64.8 3,146 18 13 91.0 15 52 3.5 12 1 2
2019 WPG 9 9 240 171 71.3 1,936 15 5 107.2 9 37 4.1 18 1 1
CFL totals 114 73 2,373 1,582 66.7 18,363 94 60 94.5 140 617 4.4 41 13 18
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References
  1. "Nichols, Reilly duel for QB job as Edmonton Eskimos open training camp". CTVNews.
  2. "Eskimos QB Matt Nichols out for 2013 with torn ACL in right knee". The Globe and Mail.
  3. "Backup plan: Nichols handed extension by Esks". CFL.ca.
  4. Hobson, Russ. "Matt Nichols set for first start of the season against the Edmonton Eskimos". Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  5. "B.C. Lions storm back from 19-point deficit to nip Winnipeg Blue Bombers in West Division semi-final". National Post. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
  6. "Bombers re-sign Nichols to three-year deal – Article – TSN". TSN. 2017-01-18. Retrieved 2017-01-18.
  7. "2017-11-12 Game Tracker - Edmonton Eskimos vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2453) - CFL.ca". CFL.ca. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  8. "Report: Matt Nichols to miss 4-6 weeks - CFL.ca". CFL.ca. 2018-06-07. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  9. Press, The Canadian (2019-08-19). "Winnipeg Blue Bombers QB Matt Nichols avoids surgery, will be placed on six-game IL - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  10. Press, The Canadian (2019-09-26). "Matt Nichols has shoulder surgery; out for season - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  11. "Blue Bombers to release QB Nichols early". TSN. January 28, 2020.
  12. "Argos make Nichols signing official; ink veteran pivot to three-year deal". CFL.ca. 2020-02-07. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
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