Jacobs to join Team Carruthers full-time starting next season
Published
Team Reid Carruthers have grabbed the top free agent in men's curling as Olympic and Brier champion Brad Jacobs will join the team on a full-time basis starting next season.
Jacobs, 37, announced he was taking a step back from competitive curling at the conclusion of last season, but was back sooner than expected when he joined Team Carruthers - also featuring front-end players Derek Samagalski and Connor Njegovan - for a Grand Slam event in January, posting a 2-3 record at the Canadian Open.
The Winnipeg rink started this season with longtime Manitoba curler Jason Gunnlaugson at third and had some solid early results with a win at September's PointsBet Invitational. However, they would start to struggle after the PointsBet, missing the playoffs in four of their next six events, including a 4-9 record in three Grand Slams.
A week before Christmas they announced their departure from Gunnlaugson and later announced Jacobs would join the squad for the remaining Grand Slams of the 2022-23 season.
At provincial playdowns, Jacobs missed the playoffs in Northern Ontario as a skip of his own rink while Carruthers, playing with just three curlers, lost to Team Matt Dunstone in the Manitoba final.
Team Carruthers represented Wild Card 2 at the Tim Hortons Brier in London with Rob Gordon filling in at lead. They posted a 4-4 record and missed the playoffs.
Carruthers, 38, is currently in Sweden as he prepares to coach Team Kerri Einarson at the World Women's Curling Championship.
Jacobs has skipped out of Sault Ste. Marie for his entire career, making 14 appearances at the Brier, winning his lone Tankard in 2013 and the silver medal at the World Men's Curling Championship that same year. His team of Ryan Fry, E.J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden captured gold at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Jacobs has also won seven Grand Slams in his career.
Team Carruthers, with Jacobs serving as vice, will close their season out at the Players' Championship in April.