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I always find it hard to browse the CFL's official free agent list so I re-organize it by position for readability. Still lots of time until free agency opens so this list is getting smaller daily.

Big Stan back https://3downnation.com/2026/01/26/winnipeg-blue-bombers-re-sign-future-hall-of-fame-blocker-stanley-bryant/

At this point, I think we've brought back the right vets and released/not signed the right players... looking at our list of FAs, there aren't any more "must signs" on the list... Makonzo is an intriguing player that I would like to actually see play... but other than him, no one on that list needs to be back

Pretty polarized opinions on WJ. It'll be interesting to see how he does.

yeah...was a mere formality I think of holdovers from last yr....we need not sign any of the rest now who are FA's.....Tho I would like to see Woods back and allowed to compete as he was by no means inadequate...but a victim of what went on here...let him battle with new signings we recruited an any FA we grab

it’s pretty common in the cfl now to bring guys like this into camp. underachieving 4star or higher guys. If they adjust in camp to the canadian game it’s a very good chance you have a high end contributor. if they don’t they are easy cuts. The raw talent and athleticism helps raise the bar in drills for camp as well

Bogle is an interesting one. Highly recruited, unanimous 4-star recruit out of HS. Played a couple of years at Florida, then moved to Michigan State. Never became a regular starter or lived up to his potential out of HS. Very good athleticism and build, stronger than his weight would suggest, he's extremely lean, twitchy, good get off, has an excellent spin move, and a good motor. Boyd is similar. Polished, good frame that could hold more weight, excellent top-end speed, 3-star kid with polish who struggled to find a spot till his last year. Battle is pretty much the opposite. Instantly stepped in and started at the corner for NC state. tremendous size, mediocre measurables, but his speed plays better on the field than it tests. Quick twitchy, explosive type. Physical, very aggressive press corner type. Struggled more in zone, but his aggression is also going to be tough in man cover. Could be penalty-prone in any pro league. I think his wheels play much better in the CFL, and his fit could be good with JYs system if he can adjust. Played a ton of snaps, like 2400. If he can reign in his aggression and fit in with the system, he could be a very high-floor guy. Mayes has an interesting build for a wr, almost closer to a rbs build. Doesn't have great measurables, but a good track and basketball guy in Hs. Looks to have good hands. His qb, Ridder, was on our NL for a good while. They've seen a lot of him. He's got good polish, shifty runner. Whenever I see guys at WR in that 6' and under, 200 and under range, I wonder if they have been over looked alot for not jumping off the stat sheet, or if they are an overachiever. Mayes hands and polish make me think he's the overlooked type. I wonder if they view him as a slot back. If he can master the waggle, he could go far up here, very quickly.

I have no problem with Elgersma chasing and NFL dream but sooner or later he’ll be in the CFL if he wants a pro career at QB. I may be biased but I think the sooner he comes to that conclusion the better off he’ll be.

Vaval being back is another positive. Walters off season so far has been very good.

https://www.bluebombers.com/2026/01/19/winnipeg-football-club-announces-installation-of-new-high-resolution-video-boards-at-princess-auto-stadium/

Well with the goal post fuckery necessitating more short placement punts he might be very useful

As it stands Mack is the biggest game breaker/upside guy available.. White is the best multi use guy currently available..you know what yiur gonna get and its top tier As both are free we should have Condell in whites ear now and present Mack with a appealing deal as well and lock them up before FA even starts..and they can both easily be incorporated into our sms Wilson.. White..Mack with Demski and Clercius gives us a real nice group and one that covers a lot of metrics you can really take advantage of with the solid ground game we have No reason why we can't get that done before Feb FA period opens

A real sleeper out there is Ayden Eberhardt...not spectacular ...just as dependable as Demski...I can't remember him dropping one in 25'...Certainly worth a look

I do like Sterns as a back end of the roster guy. Tough blocker, all-around good wr. I'd love to have him back as long as he isn't pencilled into a starting job going into camp.

Agree. I'm looking for guys that are taking the next step. I think Brissett is one of those

yeah reading that article makes me shake my head. Willie only had 3 sacks, but here's the reason why ... we only rushed 3. The clearer picture would be that how many sacks did the team have overall last year. Anyways, I'm still a fan of his and am happy he is sticking around. I think he'll have a bounce back year.

If WJ comes back he needs to take a lot less money.

I don’t think he’s related to shonte peeples. Tremendous raw talent as a pass rusher and play maker.Didn’t play hs. Lead all of juco in sacks. bounced around colleges, didn’t put up the crazy sacks after he left juco but he did have incredible win rates and lead the conference in pressures. Has a motor that doesn’t quit. And makes a lot of plays in the run game. Hes smaller, but strong and extremely disruptive. Hes one to be excited about seeing in camp.

Its ok, I sign all my notes HardCoreBlue and send all emails from HardCoreBlue@gmail.com.

Someone has to be the first. Honestly some of you need to stop fretting about the guy. He is chasing a dream, whether it's likely or not is irrelevant. When he's ready to come here get excited until them he's just another dude not on the Bombers.

I think almost everyone is in agreement on this.... But nobody should slight the kid for trying. I'd be more than happy to see an honest to goodness Canadian, trained in the CIS, QB make it down south... If for nothing other than to show that the CIS is growing as a legitimate talent source.

To be fair, I think Mike was referencing his football career in general not specifically the nfl. But either way, you seem to be offended by his choices. As long as there are stories like Warner out there its easy to believe guys will believe in themselves and chase their goals. And if Streveler can get an NFL pension, Elgersma has at least a chance

I've seen a bunch of players and coaches in the NFL say that the talent gap between the NFL and the CFL is not huge. We don't have the top-tier outliers, and don't keep them when we find them, but average imp starter to starter it is way closer than people realize. The consistency of players, coaches, and systems here is too much for the UFL to overcome. Even though we see a lot of turn over with in the league each year, its still a lot of guys staying in the league and with similar systems. The top tier in the UFL is very good. The problem is that below that, it drops off a massive cliff.

I think a lot of CFL fans don't realize that the CFL is viewed as league with a very high level of play by the NFL. It's a league where guys who have slipped through the cracks can get a legit 2nd chance. The UFL just isn't at that level of play because they are usually a rag tag bunch of whoever will show up so it's just really ugly football.

This is so childish. You’re talking about his career like your feelings on the topic have any relevance.

Vaval has good representation and a in tune Agent who agreed with him to make the smart decision for this yr and just commit....and add to his tape...More guys need to find that type of governance in their career...Hello Elgersma

I don't see how schoen plays next year. He's a following year option if he is an option at all.

Vaval back is massive....

I like Castillo being back, meh to Jamison's return.

Castillo and Sheanan are back

Maybe just maybe we should be looking at developing Canadian Qbs as well..say a designated 2 to 3 year spot for a Canadian Qb to be groomed( that actually benefits a team ratio wise), the talent has gotten so much better, they just lack the coaching that US players get.

This is going to be a thoroughly unpopular take here, but I think that Elgersma may even be lucky to be a CFL starter and that may never happen. I want to sign him, but for the life of me I don't think anyone should be thinking he's a shoe in for anything. He will need a ton of development. When I used to coach I went to several coaching clinics down in Texas and California. I got to see the QB factories up close. The kids at these "factories" begin development at age 8. By the time they are in high school they are technically better than any QB in the CIS. They get top notch development by ex pro coaches and players and even their schooling is formatted around their QB development. It's a different world of football in the US compared to Canada. Not comparable in any way. That was just one of many 'QB factories" around the USA

I think when we drafted Elgersma it was kind of a 'throw away pic' ... and it was 'loooong term' whether he would show up in the Peg at any rate...With that in mind, I would say we were prepared to let him playout his dream down south and wait until he and his agent make up their minds in which direction they want to proceed in....Looks like he's exhausted his first shots at catching on in the nfl ,and just a little more time till he makes the smart move and heads north.. ....I think we'll see him at tc and get to see first hand if he's got the talent to play professional ball and stick

People need to also realize Elgersma has proven nothing...shown nothing to make a team want him in the NFL...but dominated somewhat a lil bit in the CIS In all honesty big flipping deal..he could amount to basically what all cdn qbs prior to him did...zero The most recent cis dominant qb ...Ford has shown exactly that...he ain't good enough Training and evaluation in the U.S is do specific and so detailed and investigated from so many avenues and by talking to so many people involved with a player it would blow your mind...I see it with the athletes I work with. Rourke got some legit looks and some legit playtime in TC and not just against other scrubs who had no chance to make it anyway...and had success but again...nfl politics were his demise...and he had pro game film after his first go around when teams didnt even wanna give him a qb look Difference...u.s prep school play...u.s college career...u.s legit chance albeit with the CDN bias against him...and he got punted and that was that Only other cdn qb i can think of...Palmer, who followed same path as Rourke had a limited existence but it also wasnt enough Sure a guy can chase a dream...but also needs to be realistic..a big arm...the prototypical NFL qb body type isnt a garuantee...there are so many guys who possess what Elgersma has coming out of u.s college with u.s football training that teams will always put first..and thats the reality. I also wouldn't hang my hat on him here in cfl to be this big success...why would anyone? Its a big jump to make...and if there was a legit thought he had it...he would have been PR'd all yr in the NFL.. and that didnt happen either And this pinning in Canada to almost force this idea thst a Canadian QB is needed and great is ludicrous too..who effing cares...find and or develop the best QB regardless...birth certificate should have no bearing on a position..best player should tho

You have to keep chasing your dreams. Me, I am chasing the dream of landing a date with Sydney Sweeny. You got to believe!

Not true - Rourke was also trying his luck with the NFL before he ever stepped on to a CFL field. He wasn't getting much interest as a QB though (the Giants had him try out at receiver) so he signed with BC. Yeah he got more interest down south after 2 seasons up here, but it was not his original plan (hence his unexpected detour comments). Elgersma is actually getting more NFL looks than Rourke did at this point in their careers so it's not hard to see why he might chase that.

No kidding. The guy is 23 years old. One opportunity down south could be life changing money. He hasn't said a negative word about the CFL or the Bombers and he's just exhausting his options.

Definitely.....make the smart move cash wise and pick up pointers from a winning qb....Someone should refer Elgersma to Vavals agent

Stan at the right price, I'd take... That's about it. Right now I'm wanting a good C, some IMP DL and REC... If we can grab some quality pieces there I think we're in decent shape.

While I was hoping they would also increase the size of the screens, I am glad they are improving the resolution. Now, if they just make use of the full screen for replays on occasion. I know they need to advertise and show the score but they should be able to use the full screen for video more often.

And vaval will be back for this year. Hes one of the more interesting year 2 guys to see. It’ll be hard to continue his performance from the last 2/3s or so of last year. But if he can take a step forward at db and be more useful as a back up, and more consistent and secure in the kr game we will be in a great spot. There is a decent chunk of guys im excited to see in year 2. If a couple have that game slowing down process we could see some new star power on this team.

Sheehan was either a lot better last year, or the least of our worries. Either way, I don't remember complaining about him near as much

he significantly cut down on the shanks after a couple weeks. I think we could do more with greater punt depth given the depth and talent we have on teams, but i’m not surprised by this move it’s pretty solid. I also hope we bring in tough camp competition like we should at all positions. Very happy sergio is back. It’s been an excellent beginning to the off season. Walter’s has finally done well with what is in our control. We have dished out some big pay days, but no reason we can’t make it work in free agency still. Of what’s left for our fas, I expect big stan to get his deal done, I’d like makonzo back, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we bring back one or more of the imp wrs. I think schoen is pretty toast but we could sit him for a year on the 6 game. I like sterns as a scrappy over achiever, wouldn’t mind him back on the cheap. Wheatfall id be happy to move on from but who knows he could be back. Wr, and Dl are going to be big holes needing filling from fa. Then ol would be huge to add 1 guy. Powell would be tremendous to get as well.

Good news on Castillo... I don't mind Sheehan though I'd like to see some legitimate competition for that job...

2 year deal for Castillo & 1 for Sheahan.

I think we will likely sign him at some point on a barf=gain deal for late season possibly being ready....no harm in that really, but in no way count on him in any regard We have a couple of nice prospects we signed, but hope we add Hardy to Pokey, Demski and Clercius and whatever rookie pops off the page as the 5th guy and that would be a nice group Maybe we are gonna target a Canadian WR in FA and go 3 Canadians and 2 Imports...and allow us to maximize some legit Import beef on the dline

A rough look at the depth chart with 3 weeks to go until free agency, apologies for any errors or omissions: