First practice of the regular season is today. Out with the old and in with the new. Time to get it started.

 

1 minute ago, bigg jay said:

Did a quick list based on what I can quickly find from news releases and/or when players signed (I assumed the standard 3 year rookie deals for nationals & 1 year with a team option for a 2nd year with imports unless a specific length was announced).  Might be off on a few and I'm sure the list will dwindle by the time FA officially opens.

• AYERS, Michael
• BONDS, Terrell
• BRYANT, Stanley
• CADWALLADER, Tanner
• CASE, Kody
• CASTILLO, Sergio
• COBB, Gavin
• DEMSKI, Nic
• ELI, Asotui
• GAUTHIER, Shayne
• GRIFFIN II, Michael
• HALLETT, Nick
• HOLM, Evan
• JEFFERSON, Willie
• KELLY, Jake
• KOLANKOWSKI, Chris
• KRAMDI, Redha
• LAWSON, Cameron
• LOFTON, Eric
• MAKONZO, Enock
• MITCHELL, Dillon
• NEUFELD, Patrick
• NICHOLS, Deatrick
• OLIVEIRA, Brady
• PARKER, Jamal
• RANDOLPH, Kendall
• SCHMEKEL, Tanner
• SCHOEN, Dalton
• SHEAHAN, Jamieson
• STERNS, Jerreth
• STREVELER, Chris
• THOMAS, Jake
• VANTERPOOL, Micah
• VAUGHTERS, James
• WHEATFALL, Keric
• WILSON, Kyrie
• WILSON, Terry
• WOODS, Jamal

The following players ended the season on the PR, making them FA's immediately:

Devin Adams, De'Shaan Dixon, Ben Dooley, Matthew Jackson, Jay Person, Hunter Poncius,, Fabian Weitz, AK Gassama, Justin Mayers.
 

Awesome list thanks! 
Was holms new deal only 1 year or was that 2 years ago already? 

The lists are soo massive these days. You really have to act quickly and decisively to prevent torpedoing your off season. 

11 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

Awesome list thanks! 
Was holms new deal only 1 year or was that 2 years ago already? 

The lists are soo massive these days. You really have to act quickly and decisively to prevent torpedoing your off season. 

One year extension for Holm.

https://3downnation.com/2025/01/15/winnipeg-blue-bombers-sign-db-evan-holm-to-one-year-extension/#:~:text=The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have,pound native of Edina%2C Minn.

 

18 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

Apparently zach said he wants to play next year with the current core. Doesn’t sound from the quote like the wants to be in a rebuild or tear down next year. 

He also said he has “options” for next year.

Collaros seems to have settled into that comfort zone where he doesn't really care anymore. Was evidenced by the suspension he served. 

There's a whole lot of complacency around this team that needs to get gone. Preseason next year better be an absolute dog fight for spots.

Zach saying he wants the core back is troubling, we need to get better. Gives off the vibe that the vets just want the status quo/they believe they'll be fine.

2 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

Zach saying he wants the core back is troubling, we need to get better. Gives off the vibe that the vets just want the status quo/they believe they'll be fine.

They’re stuck hanging onto the old glory days

15 minutes ago, Mike said:

They’re stuck hanging onto the old glory days

Also why worry about losing jobs or adapting? It just encapsulates everything that is wrong with the team at the moment 

On O 

new OC and scheme would go along way 

new tackle guard center. (Vanterpool takes one spot there) (Bryant kola neuf are done) 

1 maybe 2 receiver spots. I like pokey Demski sterns and the Canadians. We need an upgrade on Mitchell tho badly. Big time. 
 

QB 2. 
 

most the changes I see are on D. The entire DL. Kyrie Wilson. A couple DBs. Maybe it’s time to find a Canadian kicker. American kicker who only boots fgs is a poor roster spot to waste. 
 

keep. 
 

Zach (pay cut) 

Brady. Peterson. MCI 

Vanterpool Wallace Randolph. 
 

pokey. Sterns. Demski. Clercius. Cobb. Corcoran (he was the rookie) 

Jenkins. Jaworski. KMB 

Shay. Smith. Kramdi. Woodbey. Ayers. 
 

holm. Nichols( maybe, he’s getting older tho) 

I’m not sold on Allen but he can he brought back to compete . 
 

Sheahan can come back. Vaval and Leroux also. I’m missing a bunch of Canadians for sure cuz not like there a million that make it to FA so gotta keep some of the depth but who? Good question. Vibert and guys like that. 

Edited November 2, 2025Nov 2 by Goalie

2 hours ago, rebusrankin said:

Zach saying he wants the core back is troubling, we need to get better. Gives off the vibe that the vets just want the status quo/they believe they'll be fine.

yep, he also said he has options, so maybe it means he is willing to be waived/opt out etc 

15 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

yep, he also said he has options, so maybe it means he is willing to be waived/opt out etc 

Traded to Ottawa with Elgersma for Dru Brown and an OL but likely means his option is retirement. I wonder if there’s an option to become QB coach here. Zach seems like a guy who could be a coaching candidate. 

Edited November 2, 2025Nov 2 by Goalie

Both lines need a complete overhaul, I think Collaros is done as a Bomber the OC did nothing to warrant being retained. This team has some really good players but the team also has many positions that need to be upgraded. 

13 minutes ago, Goalie said:

Traded to Ottawa with Elgersma for Dru Brown and an OL but likely means his option is retirement. I wonder if there’s an option to become QB coach here. Zach seems like a guy who could be a coaching candidate. 

I’d take any of those out comes over running it back yet again. 

As far as trading Id prefer to include manu than elgersma. I love manu, but I’d rather stack it up at qb right now. 

Retiring, Idk who to we would pivot to. I just hope not the pest from toronto 

I love Dru Brown but his injuries are piling up, and I wouldn't be selling the farm for him at this point...

Count me out for trading Elgersma. He's the only guy that is really exciting me as a future QB for us. We need to go all in on rebuilding our o line and then pass the torch to Elgersma.

I wonder what Zach options are? Under contract for next year. Is he planning to retire? Ask for a trade?

Agree with @wbbfan, don't want to trade Zach and Elgersma.

Agree with @Noeller on the injury concern with Brown.

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

yep, he also said he has options, so maybe it means he is willing to be waived/opt out etc 

His options are: retire, ask for a trade or play for the Bombers. I do not know who would be interested enough in him to offer a trade of value.

9 minutes ago, Tracker said:

His options are: retire, ask for a trade or play for the Bombers. I do not know who would be interested enough in him to offer a trade of value.

Another option: do the team a solid by taking a pay cut so they can spend in FA & get him some help.

Re Zach: Under contract means whatever guaranteed money he has is sunk, but it doesn't mean we have to or even should keep him. He's way overpaid for his performance. 

 

1 hour ago, Noeller said:

I love Dru Brown but his injuries are piling up, and I wouldn't be selling the farm for him at this point...

not like we have a ton of horses to pair him with or protect him. Or some great farm to sell. That said, we need to do some thing and options are very few. 

55 minutes ago, TBURGESS said:

Re Zach: Under contract means whatever guaranteed money he has is sunk, but it doesn't mean we have to or even should keep him. He's way overpaid for his performance. 

 

His previous deals had very high guaranteed floors too. 

Edited November 2, 2025Nov 2 by wbbfan

5 hours ago, 17to85 said:

Collaros seems to have settled into that comfort zone where he doesn't really care anymore. Was evidenced by the suspension he served. 

There's a whole lot of complacency around this team that needs to get gone. Preseason next year better be an absolute dog fight for spots.

It better be a dog fight, but if this coaching staff is back, it won’t be.  Totally agree about the complacency.

5 hours ago, Mike said:

They’re stuck hanging onto the old glory days

I mean who the **** cares?  Teammate doesn't throw his buddies under the bus.  The only say he should have on personnel is how he feels about certain receivers and just advisory for the personnel guys in free agency or deciding whether to bring guys back.  Doesn't seem like they've done him that courtesy lately based on what's on our roster today.

“(In training camp) we repped a lot of things that we didn’t rep during the season. I didn’t get a lot of reps with the guys who were playing. My situation put us in jeopardy there with the suspension and trying to manage that. I think it’s getting reps — reps with the players, reps with what concepts do we like? On second-and-six, second-and-five with the game on the line, what are we going to call because we know we can execute the play? I don’t know if we had that this year, so getting good at something, I think, matters

https://3downnation.com/2025/11/02/zach-collaros-frustrated-by-2025-season-but-plans-to-play-for-winnipeg-blue-bombers-in-2026/

 

That all tracks, but boy is that a pile of red flags. No wonder our go tos ended up being old holdovers from lapo/buck and why zach couldn’t build a repoire with any one this year. And yeah as has been said ad nauseam, the concepts we ran were trash. 

17 hours ago, bigg jay said:

Did a quick list based on what I can quickly find from news releases and/or when players signed (I assumed the standard 3 year rookie deals for nationals & 1 year with a team option for a 2nd year with imports unless a specific length was announced).  Might be off on a few and I'm sure the list will dwindle by the time FA officially opens.

• AYERS, Michael
• BONDS, Terrell
• BRYANT, Stanley
• CADWALLADER, Tanner
• CASE, Kody
• CASTILLO, Sergio
• COBB, Gavin
• DEMSKI, Nic
• ELI, Asotui
• GAUTHIER, Shayne
• GRIFFIN II, Michael
• HALLETT, Nick
• HOLM, Evan
• JEFFERSON, Willie
• KELLY, Jake
• KOLANKOWSKI, Chris
• KRAMDI, Redha
• LAWSON, Cameron
• LOFTON, Eric
• MAKONZO, Enock
• MITCHELL, Dillon
• NEUFELD, Patrick
• NICHOLS, Deatrick
• OLIVEIRA, Brady
• PARKER, Jamal
• RANDOLPH, Kendall
• SCHMEKEL, Tanner
• SCHOEN, Dalton
• SHEAHAN, Jamieson
• STERNS, Jerreth
• STREVELER, Chris
• THOMAS, Jake
• VANTERPOOL, Micah
• VAUGHTERS, James
• WHEATFALL, Keric
• WILSON, Kyrie
• WILSON, Terry
• WOODS, Jamal

The following players ended the season on the PR, making them FA's immediately:

Devin Adams, De'Shaan Dixon, Ben Dooley, Matthew Jackson, Jay Person, Hunter Poncius,, Fabian Weitz, AK Gassama, Justin Mayers.
 

Who was that rookie Defensive End I believe from Florida or Florida State who sacked Bethel-Thompson a few times in our last home game? 

11 hours ago, TBURGESS said:

Re Zach: Under contract means whatever guaranteed money he has is sunk, but it doesn't mean we have to or even should keep him. He's way overpaid for his performance. 

 

I think he's guaranteed 1/3 of his salary so he'll be around. I'm one of the few here who still believe in Zach. He was handcuffed by a subpar reciving group, old & slow OL & a **** up of an OC in Hogan. I'd like to see what he'd do with a revamped line, better receivers & JJ calling the plays. 

Edited November 3, 2025Nov 3 by SpeedFlex27

9 hours ago, wbbfan said:

“(In training camp) we repped a lot of things that we didn’t rep during the season. I didn’t get a lot of reps with the guys who were playing. My situation put us in jeopardy there with the suspension and trying to manage that. I think it’s getting reps — reps with the players, reps with what concepts do we like? On second-and-six, second-and-five with the game on the line, what are we going to call because we know we can execute the play? I don’t know if we had that this year, so getting good at something, I think, matters

https://3downnation.com/2025/11/02/zach-collaros-frustrated-by-2025-season-but-plans-to-play-for-winnipeg-blue-bombers-in-2026/

 

That all tracks, but boy is that a pile of red flags. No wonder our go tos ended up being old holdovers from lapo/buck and why zach couldn’t build a repoire with any one this year. And yeah as has been said ad nauseam, the concepts we ran were trash. 

If Hogan comes back as OC for sure we lose Brady. That would be massive & the biggest red flag I see. Hogan has to go. But will our stubborn HC admit he was wrong & actually do it? Will his ego trump what's best for the team? 

2 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

If Hogan comes back as OC for sure we lose Brady. That would be massive & the biggest red flag I see. Hogan has to go. But will our stubborn HC admit he was wrong & actually do it? Will his ego trump what's best for the team? 

"If Hogan comes back as OC for sure we lose"...me (a season ticket holder). I was wary when he was announced as the new OC but, at the time, trusted that the Bombers' tall foreheads knew what they were doing. However, I'm extremely disappointed in Hogan, not so much that he was a "rookie" but, to my eye, because he didn't improve over the course of the season.

ZC is out to lunch on keeping core together.....but also depends on who the "core" is tho

BO....Peterson...Pokey....MCI....Clercius....Demski...Eli...Wallace...Randolph...Vpool...Those should be considered core guys for offence....and not all necessarily pencilled in as defacto starters....some could be that actual legit depth if we can obtain better

Demski needs to be 2A/2B in that group of receivers, Pokey can be the legit #1 but we need another legit top end guy to run shotgun with him....If we can't swing a trade, or sign a legit free agent QB1 if there is even one available then ZC can be back....but big "of" attached to that....If we actually can Hogan and get a legit OC....Have a legit group of weapons so ZC doesn't have to zero in on one guy and force things, and rely on heave and hope. The biggest if is he needs to be head and shoulders better than any QB in camp, and since we tied to him anyway if it is as a mentor Backup QB and solid back-up then so be it...and if he not happy with that then cut him free....as not sure what his "options" are and thats not a good attitude you want on a team trying to right the ship instead of a total teardown...and just reeks of the gifted country club atmosphere here we need to evaporate immediately

There will be more than ample legit free agent targets this yr....so open up the wallaett....be open minded to what you can do with ratio and grab the best available...pretty simple....we dont need to roll out how we deploy ratio as we have for the last 5 yrs...as it's basically took us out of the running for a lot of talent we could have had, and just encouraged us toi keep a lot of out garbage too many yrs well past their usefulness

I'm fine with WJ coming back...but as that vet glue...accessorily...reputation....Mentor...whatever you need to call it guy role and really he wasnt as bad as many like to think and my thoughts it's more of scheme and what they asked of him, as opposed to eroded talent...and if you are asked to hang around the line...and act like a volleyball player at the net then yeah at times you gonna look like loafing and just pointless out there....But we need young...active....complimentary ends eating up 60...70 percent of snaps and you rotate WJ in and just turn him loose

Other core on defense..Ayers..Woodbey..Lawson...Woods...Smith...Shay...Nichols...Griffin.....Bailey...Allen (The 3 young ends...Jenkins/Person/Jaworski and let the best 1...or 2 make it out of camp if we dont find a FA end to be the lynchpin) after that we need some revamping....And again if we cant scout our own guys...there will be many available....and like with offence...Rigitity of ratio as well on defensive side of the ball is just a handcuff

Kramdi for what he offers...and costs...is just not good enough and isn't helping things...Holm sure he got the MODP award here...not sure how but he is soft and flawed too....in a different role sure maybe he core...and would still love to see him as a "centerfield" type safety and become a picking machine

Parker...Lawson JR....an the rest of the smurf clan can kick rocks....time to loose this love of theses apparent "athletic" lil waifs and roster some playmaker guys who can win battles with the 5'11" and taller receivers...we see too much bullying and lack of physicality in our backfield allowing drives to continue....we have the least physical/intimidating group in league

Most importantly....our best course of action is to move on from Osh.....keep the rest intact as I am certain he isnt changing his ways...or even knows how too...an if we see no improving next yr....move on from G.M

I didnt watch or listen to any of the post game drivel he may have said so not sure what his "take" was....but whatever it was I an sure was a load of crap as per usual

I wanted a win...expected a loss....and stated before playoffs reason why, and that coaching ...decisions related to coaching and rostering would be our demise "of" we got to playoffs....and well wasnt far off the mark

We came out uninspired...poorly prepped....out schemed right outta the gate and had an inferior roster as to what we could have had....sure we had a little spurt in the 3rd....but did anyone really think we would maintain it and hold that lead?...I didnt as much as I hoped we could have

And biggest thing....no feet dragging this off-sesson...as soon as the Cup is handed off to the winning team captain it should be announced this coach is fired....that this coach is not being asked back...and player X...Y....Z....Heck...throw in A...D..M...P as well is not part of 2026