Blue Bombers -- 2025/26 Offseason -- Discussion Thread

[wbbfan]

3 minutes ago, Noeller said:

Nichols would be really interesting to bring in. The other former Bombers don't have any connection to Osh, so I'd doubt we see them. 

kharis best chance is how close he is to wade. 

The mafia really wanted masoli as a fa too. we pined for him a couple times. 

If nichols could rub off on zach a little bit that would make us a lot better. 

 

2 minutes ago, Booch said:

any coaching prospect that is worth the hire shouldnt have to have any pre-requisite connection to Osh....serves no purpose and eliminates basically most of the best and qualified available...

agree. plus jackson didn’t have ties to mos before getting hired 

[Booch]

wonder why they released Kolo before his deal expired...I sure there are not oodles of teams kicking down his door to sign him before the frenzy...seems odd, but long over due

 

[johnzo]

Just now, Booch said:

wonder why they released Kolo before his deal expired...

isn't that a typical player-friendly move to give a guy a chance to find a new home?

I mean, even if we don't think Kolo is gonna catch on anywhere, still seems like a class move to move on from a guy ASAP and let him find a new situation while teams still have money to spend.

[wbbfan]

1 minute ago, johnzo said:

Really?  doesn't a centre need a little bit of seasoning to call the blocking?

It does, but a true positional C can have that coming out as a pro. Vibert isn’t a pure C, but he is a high floor guy. 

 getting a guy who has experience in a similar system helps a lot too. 

Kola was a snap specialist. Guys like couture and goosen have been the block captains. Calgary did a great job of fitting fortin in, and identifying a guy who would be turn key for them. 

 

[Booch]

Just now, johnzo said:

isn't that a typical player-friendly move to give a guy a chance to find a new home?

I mean, even if we don't think Kolo is gonna catch on anywhere, still seems like a class move to move on from a guy ASAP and let him find a new situation while teams still have money to spend.

it is kinda if an NFL team is looking at you...but just for a guy on an expiring deal prior to FA seems odd...why havnt we done same with some others?....not implying any kind of regime bafoonery...just odd

[johnzo]

3 minutes ago, Booch said:

it is kinda if an NFL team is looking at you...but just for a guy on an expiring deal prior to FA seems odd...why havnt we done same with some others?....not implying any kind of regime bafoonery...just odd

happened with Woli last year, we released him in late January.

[Goalie]

Does someone sign kola? I mean surely somebody will sign him. It’s surprising to me as he was just on a video with Tait. Thought that was a sign he’d be back. 
 

kola gonna be qb coach now?  Can complain about guys getting an extra 20k probably but Walters has had a solid off season so far. 
 

willie is the next decision. Normally signed by now tho no? And Kyrie. So far Kyle is 2 for 2. 
 

schmek? Looked like he was improving b4 the injury. Decent depth who could easily be cut tho. 

Edited Monday at 11:52 PM by Goalie

[Noeller]

Willie, Kyrie, Stan and Paddy... That's what I'm curious about for sure. How far do we turn it over from 2019 and who then are the leaders?

[Booch]

1 hour ago, johnzo said:

happened with Woli last year, we released him in late January.

He was due a bonus tho and had a yr left on his deal

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, Goalie said:

Does someone sign kola? I mean surely somebody will sign him. It’s surprising to me as he was just on a video with Tait. Thought that was a sign he’d be back. 
 

kola gonna be qb coach now?  Can complain about guys getting an extra 20k probably but Walters has had a solid off season so far. 
 

willie is the next decision. Normally signed by now tho no? And Kyrie. So far Kyle is 2 for 2. 
 

schmek? Looked like he was improving b4 the injury. Decent depth who could easily be cut tho. 

I bet he’s in camp with someone but doesn’t make an ar. 

53 minutes ago, Noeller said:

Willie, Kyrie, Stan and Paddy... That's what I'm curious about for sure. How far do we turn it over from 2019 and who then are the leaders?

I could see 2 of them gone. 

[rebusrankin]

Counter point 2019 was 7 years ago. Perhaps its time for a larger overhaul. Then again what do I know?

[SpeedFlex27]

1 hour ago, Noeller said:

Willie, Kyrie, Stan and Paddy... That's what I'm curious about for sure. How far do we turn it over from 2019 and who then are the leaders?

How long ago was 2019? That was pre pandemic. The world was a different place. That was a long freaking time ago. Kyrie Wilson should be next to go. 

[Mark H.]

I predict Wilson will be let go. Neuf maybe not, because even if they go with 3 Americans, they'd be well served with him as the 6th OL.

[Mike]

To me, releasing Kola is a pretty obvious sign to the pending free agents that we are going to either a) put work in to pay one of them to play center or b) all of a sudden decide Tui can do the job 

and it’s not B

[Goalie]

Neufeld Stan Willie and Kyrie. 
 

Kyrie has a replacement here already in woodbey and possibly Shay. easily replaceable. 
 

Stan? I think it’s his decision but an American tackle shouldn’t be hard to find. Seems like we are signing a few tho so where there is smoke perhaps he’s hanging them up. Could see 1 more year with Zach tho. Again. His decision 

 

Neufeld ? A guy who lives here now I believe, could possibly be a center option. I guess you can’t or shouldn’t purge all your vets especially versatile Canadian oline. 
 

willie? I’m really not sure. Depends on $$$ probably. Don’t think Willie is what he was. Should be able to find some young ends no? Save some cash. 
 

what about the receiver. Had great chemistry with Zach. The former rider. Thought he was ok. Think I’d bring him back to compete. Can’t remember name. He got hurt. It’s Sterns. 

Edited yesterday at 04:20 AM by Goalie

[SpeedFlex27]

1 hour ago, Mark H. said:

I predict Wilson will be let go. Neuf maybe not, because even if they go with 3 Americans, they'd be well served with him as the 6th OL.

Is LT McGloster from the Als a FA? He'd be my absolute #1 signing if we can get him.

[SpeedFlex27]

Glenn Mazur ·dsneSoptor2c339ch87172u5aucuh1gtuif45t61l1i758lma7h90ttht8mt ·

 

Sergio Castillo recently posted this....

Blinkeye care wpg has taken care of me for the past 3 years, & recently teamed up with optometrists.mb.ca to gear me up these Armourx glasses!!

Comfortable, durable, maybe my wife thinks Im sexier

Should I wear these for the upcoming cfl season???

[GCn20]

15 hours ago, Blue In BC said:

The 2026 SMS increased by the $400K that was implemented in 2025. Most teams didn't get a chance to spend all that was available last year. Regardless the new SMS is being spent on some players being re-signed to higher level contracts.

Their was a lot of dispute about whether that 400k was actually an SMS increase or went to player benefits. No answer has been given as of yet on which it was. There has been no official announcement of an actual increased SMS other than the 80k or so outlined in the last CBA. Walters went through this is depth last year with the media. If that will indeed be an SMS increase this year, great, but the league has not officially announced anything of the sort.

14 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

All these "mind boggling" contracts are signed Canadians for the most part except for wide receivers like Lawler who are game breakers. Canadians get paid more because only 7 start therefore they are a more valuable commodity. The only way to stop it is to get rid of the ratio. There is no other way. 

The ratio does indeed make NATs more valuable and that is not the argument at all. 

14 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Imo, he’s perfect as a 3rd/4th dt / 6/7th dl. Like you said he’s very useful as a package guy in heavy sets on both sides of the ball. 

We really need a great imp 3 tech who can  kick outside in both 30 and 40 fronts. An imp nose to rotate with lawson would also be fantastic. 
 

Major props to schmekel whose crafted himself into a very good end of the roster canadian. Love to see a young big do what ever it takes to be useful. If he takes another step forward that would be incredible, but i’m not expecting that. 

I like Schmek...he plays hard and knows his role.

13 hours ago, Booch said:

wonder why they released Kolo before his deal expired...I sure there are not oodles of teams kicking down his door to sign him before the frenzy...seems odd, but long over due

 

They released him as a courtesy. Let him try secure employment elsewhere before the big fish swim in FA.

[GCn20]

13 hours ago, Booch said:

it is kinda if an NFL team is looking at you...but just for a guy on an expiring deal prior to FA seems odd...why havnt we done same with some others?....not implying any kind of regime bafoonery...just odd

It's done quite often. We did it with Bighill even. I can't remember offhand anyone else but I know this is pretty standard here and across the CFL. If you know a guy isn't in your future plans you cut him loose ASAP.

13 hours ago, Goalie said:

Does someone sign kola? I mean surely somebody will sign him. It’s surprising to me as he was just on a video with Tait. Thought that was a sign he’d be back. 
 

kola gonna be qb coach now?  Can complain about guys getting an extra 20k probably but Walters has had a solid off season so far. 
 

willie is the next decision. Normally signed by now tho no? And Kyrie. So far Kyle is 2 for 2. 
 

schmek? Looked like he was improving b4 the injury. Decent depth who could easily be cut tho. 

Willie is 50/50 on whether he signs early or not. Couple times he did, couple times he signed just prior to FA.

10 hours ago, Mark H. said:

I predict Wilson will be let go. Neuf maybe not, because even if they go with 3 Americans, they'd be well served with him as the 6th OL.

We are in no position to release Neufeld right now.

Edited yesterday at 01:28 PM by GCn20

[GCn20]

10 hours ago, Mike said:

To me, releasing Kola is a pretty obvious sign to the pending free agents that we are going to either a) put work in to pay one of them to play center or b) all of a sudden decide Tui can do the job 

and it’s not B

I agree. I would suggest that Vibert would be the guy if we go internal in a worst case scenario. Wouldn't surprise me if we went IMP before Tui or Vibert.

9 hours ago, Goalie said:

Neufeld Stan Willie and Kyrie. 
 

Kyrie has a replacement here already in woodbey and possibly Shay. easily replaceable. 
 

Stan? I think it’s his decision but an American tackle shouldn’t be hard to find. Seems like we are signing a few tho so where there is smoke perhaps he’s hanging them up. Could see 1 more year with Zach tho. Again. His decision 

 

Neufeld ? A guy who lives here now I believe, could possibly be a center option. I guess you can’t or shouldn’t purge all your vets especially versatile Canadian oline. 
 

willie? I’m really not sure. Depends on $$$ probably. Don’t think Willie is what he was. Should be able to find some young ends no? Save some cash. 
 

what about the receiver. Had great chemistry with Zach. The former rider. Thought he was ok. Think I’d bring him back to compete. Can’t remember name. He got hurt. It’s Sterns. 

American Left Tackles are crazy hard to find.  Stan will be back. Kyrie? Probably not. Neuf and Willie almost definitely unless they ask for the moon.

Edited yesterday at 01:34 PM by GCn20

[Booch]

Stan will sign when dust settles and we land the fish we want to, and he will take a fair deal for both sides...he wont hold us over the coals and has done similar before...From what I hear he is not ready to retire (well wasnt at season end) and though he not as good as vintage Stan...he still one of best in league.

Neuf as well needs to be back and fairly certain he will at a friendly deal for both...Neither wanna play elsewhere and are team guys and are allowing the team to get better with more priority signings...Too nad ZC doesnt have same mindset and willing to give a lil back for the overall team benefit

And if some guys in camp really show up and make it impossible to have them play second fiddle anymore...hopefully Osh has the sense this yr to actually allow it...That or Walters just takes the dilema out of his hands and outright releases a player or 2...aka...do his job unbiased 

I hope we dont go 3 imports on oline...weakens the defence and thats an option when your cupboards are basically bare National wise...

With Woodbey here...Shay...Smith...(Griffin, Makonzo and Ayers) if resigned we have zero need for Wilson, and really T.Jones either unless he gets bumped to role guy/rotational/situational player...basically a DA

We actually quite nicely set up to allow some of the youth to step up and take the next step, and to delay that another yr just because of the similar nonesense from the past few yrs, with returnees...then we obviously havnt learned our lesson and are truly changing our ways

1 hour ago, GCn20 said:

I agree. I would suggest that Vibert would be the guy if we go internal in a worst case scenario. Wouldn't surprise me if we went IMP before Tui or Vibert.

American Left Tackles are crazy hard to find.  Stan will be back. Kyrie? Probably not. Neuf and Willie almost definitely unless they ask for the moon.

thats how I see it...

[CrazyCanuck89]

15 hours ago, johnzo said:

Really?  doesn't a centre need a little bit of seasoning to call the blocking?

I wouldn't that, their has been a couple of centres that started their rookie season.  Nicastro, McEwan are two examples.

[wbbfan]

11 hours ago, Mark H. said:

I predict Wilson will be let go. Neuf maybe not, because even if they go with 3 Americans, they'd be well served with him as the 6th OL.

Neuf as the 6th ol would be an incredible luxury. I'd love to have him and Wallace fight for the 2nd guard spot, with the loser taking the 6th spot. Letting Wilson go makes a lot of sense.

Personally, I'd platoon the canadians at wil, and play woodbey at DHB. Woodbey is such an extraordinary outlier in his combination of size, athleticism, DB, and LBer skill sets. Playing him at half, and having him be the db in the run fit instead of Nichols would be such a miss match. Rolling out Shay, who is very similar in skill set at Wil, would take a big load off the shoulders off the Sam position as well.

We could have a full 3 guys at wil/mac/sam who can play the box like Lbers. Plus a DB in Woodbey. That would be a massive mismatch in the run game. Plus Allen, who is a down hill Safety. 

In the Cover game that would give us interchangeability at Wil and Sam without subbing, but if slid Woodbey to Mac, and brought in Griffin, we'd have the same kind of mismatch advantage. 

Allen, Woodbey, and Shay can give us the game-breaking versatility that we used to have with Biggie/BA/Kyrie. It would take us closer to being able to run the cutting-edge modular defenses we used to run. We'd just need more Inside/Out versatility on the DL. 

[wbbfan]

24 minutes ago, Booch said:

Stan will sign when dust settles and we land the fish we want to, and he will take a fair deal for both sides...he wont hold us over the coals and has done similar before...From what I hear he is not ready to retire (well wasnt at season end) and though he not as good as vintage Stan...he still one of best in league.

Neuf as well needs to be back and fairly certain he will at a friendly deal for both...Neither wanna play elsewhere and are team guys and are allowing the team to get better with more priority signings...Too nad ZC doesnt have same mindset and willing to give a lil back for the overall team benefit

And if some guys in camp really show up and make it impossible to have them play second fiddle anymore...hopefully Osh has the sense this yr to actually allow it...That or Walters just takes the dilema out of his hands and outright releases a player or 2...aka...do his job unbiased 

I hope we dont go 3 imports on oline...weakens the defence and thats an option when your cupboards are basically bare National wise...

With Woodbey here...Shay...Smith...(Griffin, Makonzo and Ayers) if resigned we have zero need for Wilson, and really T.Jones either unless he gets bumped to role guy/rotational/situational player...basically a DA

We actually quite nicely set up to allow some of the youth to step up and take the next step, and to delay that another yr just because of the similar nonesense from the past few yrs, with returnees...then we obviously havnt learned our lesson and are truly changing our ways

thats how I see it...

I don't think going 3 imp on the OL will hurt us too much. 

Kramdi is gonna start as long as he's healthy. Then if you start Shay, and Lawson, plus Brady, 2 WRs, and 2 OL, that's 8. If we go with a DA who can replace Lawson some and pass rush with an all-in DL for 49% of snaps or less, we'd be in a great spot. 

[GCn20]

11 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

I don't think going 3 imp on the OL will hurt us too much. 

Kramdi is gonna start as long as he's healthy. Then if you start Shay, and Lawson, plus Brady, 2 WRs, and 2 OL, that's 8. If we go with a DA who can replace Lawson some and pass rush with an all-in DL for 49% of snaps or less, we'd be in a great spot. 

I suppose it depends on where we are at with NAT receiver but yea...we could do it fairly easily without a ton of impact.