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

Just move on already

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.

This seems like a not good move when you've got Shay and Smith needing reps....

History is on your side

IMO Johnson and Mack are the top 2 and then there's quite a drop off. Arguably a huge drop off from Johnson to Mack too. Johnson is a guy just hitting his prime, legit #1 target. Most of the rest are guys who are in decline. Some guys coming off injuries who might bounce back, like Bane. Could be useful depth but basically have a better version already in Wilson. Robustelli and Nield you could probably get at a decent number. Some upside there especially with the type of offense Collaros runs. Need the big bodies that can both find the chains and win a vertical route. If we had Demski, Nield, Clercius for Canadians, plus other depth/draft pick. Wilson, Mack, Robustelli, rookies/reclamation project for Americans....I'd be good with that. Think you can build a solid offense with that. I'd be in the hunt for Johnson, Mack, Robustelli, Nield, think about Brissett if he's willing to leave the GTA (doubt it), Rambo, consider bringing back Stearns as he developed some chemistry with Collaros. Wheatfall walks. Schoen I'd keep the line open but he's not going to be able to play until the fall if that.

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

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

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

2001 was the most gut-wrenching GC loss for me: the drought, plus that talent gap between us and the stamps. You sure are right about that. The pre-ship teams played everyone so tough. The magic with finding Zach, moving BA to S, etc, in 19 was insane. And the 21 team was a monster that played like they had a chip on their shoulder. That unit could've hung 50 in every single game. Zach got to sit and chill in so many 4ths lol. I think the 21 atmosphere of being unbeatable from the outside, and the fact that we kept scraping our way back to GCs, softened things up a lot. Mos needed to tighten the reins in those years, not loosen them.

There's nothing wrong with a gm bringing vets to camp... but it's up to the head coach to assess camp and decide the vet has lost his job.

Not to mention Ayers and Woodbey... I hate this signing... not that I don't like Kyrie Wilson... because he has given us some really quality years.... I just hate the idea of playing a 33 year old (let's be honest, he's starting at WIL) on the down side of his career when we have multiple ealry to mid 20s guys ready to play and needing reps... just doesn't make any sense to me

womp wooomp

There’s another guy in Montreal I would like us to take a chance on that we wouldn’t have to break the bank and that’s Charleston Rambo. Only 26 years old and had nearly 900 receiving yards as a rookie.

I like the Stan signing. What's the worst case with him, one of our young american tackles proves better and Stan ends up on the 6 game for cap savings and acts as the vet mentor and an extra Oline coach?

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.

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.

Bob Cameron of all people gets a punt blocked! Returned for a td as well. Just pisses me off thinking about it even still. I also maintain that if Westwood makes those first few field goals we win that game. Jumping out 9-0 is a hell of a lot different momentum wise than 4-0

30 years old, had a torn ACL that forced him to miss the end of 2024 and almost all of 2025. Not exactly what the NFL looks for.

Bane's release screams you've been hurt and we are not going to bring you back to me.

93-Matty got hurt and we had to play Garza 94-Hit the upright and lost by 2 and a call in favour of Baltimore that would be reversed if there had been replay.

Nobody knows as much as Booch...😉

I think you might be right, but I am wrong half the time...

Honestly wouldn't rate a single Canadian OL about to hit free agency as starter quality. Woodmansey can't snap consistently enough to play centre and can't block well enough to be good at guard. He's the only one approaching being a good CFL player at this point in their careers. It's pure desperation and injuries that keep some of these guys playing. If I was running a team I'd start with the idea I probably have to play 4 American OL to have a strong offense and if you can find Canadians to take those spots it's a bonus. Way more options that don't harm your ability to win to play Canadians at receiver/RB or on D than locking in OL spots these days. I'm hopeful we're bringing up more American OL who aren't just tackles.

He would be the best pass blocker of the 3 from last year's play, but the worst run blocker of the 3. Eli is better overall and needs to step up in the pass game from his guard play to take the job. He should easily be able to do that. Id say Ciraco in pass pro is the bare minimum for what we need at C, and Eli run blocking is the minimum on that side. We haven't seen significant snaps from Eli at C in ages. It looked to me that he struggled out of position at Guard, which is not common but does happen (Yoshi is the biggest example). And that he, like everyone else, struggled with kola at C. I expect to see a significant improvement from him going back to his natural position full-time. If not, I'd cut him. I would expect to see that increase in the level of play before the first preseason game. Ciraco would be the backup plan imo. If we missed out on Woodmansey, I'd take flyers on guys like McEwen. Failing that, I'd try to target a C in the draft if possible. Ciraco would be the guy I would look to bring in during camp, if Eli fails, we don't get another FA, and Vibert doesn't step up. Basically, the contingency plan is the backup plan. He's a good pass blocker, but he fits our system really poorly. We'd have to give up on our zone run scheme, and even then, he isn't a guy who is going to feast in any run scheme. I believe in Eli, and I also really like Vibert. But I would bring in a plan A, and look long and hard at Cs in the draft.

Running back the core of a roster that *clearly* wasn't good enough last season ... what could go wrong?

I am increasingly concerned that roster management and poor decision making will continue. Camp better not be a summer camp - and the Bombers better be prepared to move on from players during camp. Worse than 50/50 they wont.

But why...

I can’t see us going this way at all We have Lawson and Kramdi on defense and even if you’re not a believer in Kramdi, we’ve invested draft capital into Shay/Smith who should see a greater opportunity this season. There’s no way we don’t play 2 Canadians on D, in my opinion.

I want KeeSean, Mack and Rambo in that order

I really like Robestelli's upside. I think he's a gamer and would fit in nicely.

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

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 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.