With Rookie Camp getting underway Wednesday morning, it's officially time to talk about the 2026 Winnipeg Blue Bombers!

13 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Cap doesn't matter until the end of the season. Everyone is under the cap until the end of the year. You make room as needed.

It's not enforced until the end of the season but it still matters. Teams still have to plan/budget to be cap compliant otherwise why wouldn't BC have taken him back? Biggie himself said the timing of his return to the CFL meant teams had already spent according to their budget.

"After I got released from New Orleans, I didn’t know where football was going to take me at first, especially because of the timing. I knew CFL camps hadn’t started yet, but teams had filled their rosters and spent their salary caps already looking to win a Grey Cup. I knew finding a home wasn’t going to be impossible, but it was going to be tougher than normal."

13 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

It's not enforced until the end of the season but it still matters. Teams still have to plan/budget to be cap compliant otherwise why wouldn't BC have taken him back? Biggie himself said the timing of his return to the CFL meant teams had already spent according to their budget.

"After I got released from New Orleans, I didn’t know where football was going to take me at first, especially because of the timing. I knew CFL camps hadn’t started yet, but teams had filled their rosters and spent their salary caps already looking to win a Grey Cup. I knew finding a home wasn’t going to be impossible, but it was going to be tougher than normal."

I totally get what you are saying, but if a team really wanted Bighill all they had to do was trim someone else off their roster to make it work, or if possible use 6 game IR savings that every team usually gets throughout the year. I know that's not ideal, but when a guy like Bighill ,who was the best defensive player not only available but overall in the league, becomes available if someone really wanted him it wouldn't be hard to make happen. It would just involve choices. Winnipeg was at an advantage with having some freed up space, but not as much as people think. Almost half of Durant's salary already paid, the remainder of his salary was just over league minimum and that is how much we have to pay to roster a 3rd QB. Like I say, the savings were minimal. I doubt we were far off our cap projections when we signed Biggie. The total cap room created by Durant retiring was probably around 20-25k because he stole his signing bonus like the rat thief he is. We just wanted him the most more than anything....and rightfully so considering our MLB situation the year before.

Edited September 16Sep 16 by GCn20

70K bonus on a 90-95K contract doesn't seem right to me. I'd GUESS he'd get less than 1/2 in bonus money meaning about a 70K excess in the budget.

Edited September 16Sep 16 by TBURGESS

12 minutes ago, TBURGESS said:

70K bonus on a 90-95K contract doesn't seem right to me. I'd GUESS he'd get less than 1/2 in bonus money meaning about a 70K excess in the budget.

It wasn't a 90-95k contract. It was 170k of which 70k was the signing bonus. Once paid we take on that cap hit no matter what. That means we have created 100k in cap space minus the cost of Durant's replacement which I generously qualified as close to league minimum 75k thus the true cap savings of Durant's release are 25k. Whenever a player is released you cannot calculate SMS savings as simply the remainder of their contract because that is categorically untrue because someone has to come in and fill that roster spot and that eats up some of the savings. It's business 101 stuff really. The only way that the full remainder of his contract becomes truly open on the SMS is if we chose to go with only 2 QBs and not roster a 3rd which NEVER happens in this league.

The only time this isn't applicable is when you are swapping guys out on the PR but that is because there is no SMS savings to be calculated.

Edited September 16Sep 16 by GCn20

4 hours ago, GCn20 said:

The savings on Durant were minimal as we had paid his signing bonus at the time of his retirement. However it would have accounted for some of Bighill's salary.

Semantics. Whether KW didn't offer him anything, or did and failed to get his guy, it both ends up with the same F grade for our GM. This whole you can't make a guy sign here might work for hockey, but in the CFL there is no excuse for losing out on a player if you want him bad enough. GM's are literally hired and fired based on their ability to get guys under contract. That may not be fair, but it most certainly is there job description. If they are good at it they will succeed and flourish, if they are not they will inevitably be replaced. Walters was very good at getting FA's here at one time. He does not seem to be that great at it anymore.

On 2026-08-27 at 1:15 PM, Rich said:

For shits and giggles and the reminiscing of Nasty Nate in the other thread, I used MBB posting history and ChatGPT to get a Nate style commentary on the season to date. Enjoy folks, all meant for some levity in a frustrating to date season.

THE 5–5 FOLLIES: MIKE O’SAME AND THE BLUE BOMBER MUSEUM

Ladies, gentlemen, hobos, rounders and prairie plutzkies…your 2026 Winnipeg Blue Bombers are 5–5, which is a PERFECT record if the objective is to be neither good nor bad enough to force anybody in management to do something.

These Bombers are a football slot machine. Pull the handle and maybe you get a half of competent football…maybe you get 377 rushing yards surrendered to B.C.…maybe you get a 16–0 lead in Edmonton followed by three points and 35 yards of offence in the second half. Nobody knows! Least of all the fellows being paid to know.

After every fresh disaster, out strolls head coach Mike O’Same, president and founder of S.A.M.E.—Stand Around, Mutter Excuses. Mikey surveys the smoking crater and announces that the fellas simply needed to make two or three more plays. Brilliant! The Hindenburg merely needed a couple more buckets of water.

Meanwhile general manager Kyle Waiters, also known as the Duke of Stand-Pat, watches every other CFL club bring in receivers, defensive backs and pass rushers while Winnipeg guards its practice roster like it contains the lost treasures of King Solomon. Weak receiver room? Wait. Confused secondary? Wait. Ancient offensive line creaking like a haunted hotel? WAIT HARDER. Eventually another team will accidentally release an all-star directly into Kyle’s office.

Then we have offensive coordinator Tommy Con-Dull, architect of the CFL’s last-place red-zone operation. Give Brady O-FEED-ME-ra the football and he bulldozes Edmonton for more than 100 yards before halftime. Naturally, Con-Dull responds by hiding Brady in the second half like he owes the coaching staff money. Why use your best offensive player when you can have Zach Colla-Rust fling another hopeful balloon toward a receiver moving with the speed of a refrigerator being dragged through wet cement?

On defence, coordinator Jordan Yawner has installed his famous Prevent-Us-From-Winning scheme. Rush three, rotate seventeen defenders, place the defensive backs somewhere near Brandon and graciously concede the seven-yard completion. The opposition needs eight yards? Give them twelve. Need to protect field-goal range? Back everybody onto Portage Avenue. Watching this defence communicate before the snap is like watching six tourists assemble furniture without the instructions.

The crazy part is there are still some genuine ballplayers trapped inside this travelling carnival. Brady remains the engine. Trey Va-VOOM is one of the most dangerous returners in the country. Willie Sackerson and Jake Sack-resna can still wreck an offensive line. Nic Demski continues to fight. But individual talent cannot overcome an organization that treats adjustment like an admission of guilt.

Now the 9–1 Montreal Alouettes come marching into town. Mike O’Same will tell us the room is confident. Kyle Waiters will continue waiting. Jordan Yawner will station the secondary in St. Boniface. Tommy Con-Dull will discover a new method of reaching the four-yard line and emerging with three points.

The prescription is painfully simple:

1. FEED BRADY until the other club proves it can stop him.

2. Play the best players—not the fellows with the longest service pins.

3. Attack on defence instead of operating a government-funded receiver-relocation program.

4. Bring in actual competition before the season becomes an archaeological exhibit.

5. If the same problems keep producing the same losses…CHANGE SOMETHING.

The dynasty is gone, folks. What remains is a 5–5 club living off the fumes of what it used to be, driven by coaches who appear convinced that stubbornness is a substitute for adjustment.

But don’t worry.

Mike O’Same says they’re only a couple plays away.

Prolly.

Painfully true.

https://bsky.app/profile/cfl-neg-list.bsky.social/post/3mvvsmvbkwb2x

Links to the non-Nazi app seem to be broken but Bombers sign WR Matthew Henry out of Western Kentucky...

Was recently on the Tampa PR after kicking around a few mini camps.

"Henry (6-1, 180) started all 13 games for the Hilltoppers in 2025, hauling in 55 passes for 888 yards and six touchdowns. He was named to the All-Confernece USA second team as a result of those efforts. Overall, in 40 collegiate games Henry tallied 185 receptions for 2,939 and 20 touchdowns. After going undrafted in April, he participated in rookie minicamps with the Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers."

27 minutes ago, Noeller said:

https://bsky.app/profile/cfl-neg-list.bsky.social/post/3mvvsmvbkwb2x

Links to the non-Nazi app seem to be broken but Bombers sign WR Matthew Henry out of Western Kentucky...

what app is that?

11 minutes ago, kelownabomberfan said:

Matthew Henry, WR, Western Kentucky | 2026 NFL Draft Prospect Zoom Interview

Matthew Henry emerged as a dynamic offensive weapon and top receiving option for Western Kentucky following a breakout 2024 campaign at Western Illinois, where he earned All-American honors after surpassing 1,200 receiving yards. A key offseason addition for the Hilltoppers, Henry stepped into a highly productive, pass-heavy offense and made an immediate impact with his ability to consistently stretch defenses and create explosive plays downfield. His ability to be a deep threat is paired with dependable hands, allowing him to serve as a trustworthy target across all areas of the field.

Henry’s appeal as a prospect is rooted in his competitiveness and refined ball skills, particularly in contested situations where he routinely comes down with 50-50 opportunities. He displays quickness off the line of scrimmage and tracks the ball naturally over his shoulder, showing the ability to adjust to off-target throws while maintaining strong body control through the catch. With experience aligning both outside and in the slot, he adds further value through special teams contributions, highlighted by a kick return touchdown against Nevada this past season. Backed by consistent production at multiple levels and a play style defined by explosiveness, toughness, and reliability, Henry projects as a player ready to contribute at the next level.

According to the CFL transactions page, we've brought back Thiadric Hansen. Also added a global OL to the PR.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nouredin_Nouili

Edited September 20Sep 20 by bigg jay

2 hours ago, bigg jay said:

According to the CFL transactions page, we've brought back Thiadric Hansen. Also added a global OL to the PR.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nouredin_Nouili

19 hours ago, Tracker said:

Matthew Henry, WR, Western Kentucky | 2026 NFL Draft Prospect Zoom Interview

Matthew Henry emerged as a dynamic offensive weapon and top receiving option for Western Kentucky following a breakout 2024 campaign at Western Illinois, where he earned All-American honors after surpassing 1,200 receiving yards. A key offseason addition for the Hilltoppers, Henry stepped into a highly productive, pass-heavy offense and made an immediate impact with his ability to consistently stretch defenses and create explosive plays downfield. His ability to be a deep threat is paired with dependable hands, allowing him to serve as a trustworthy target across all areas of the field.

Henry’s appeal as a prospect is rooted in his competitiveness and refined ball skills, particularly in contested situations where he routinely comes down with 50-50 opportunities. He displays quickness off the line of scrimmage and tracks the ball naturally over his shoulder, showing the ability to adjust to off-target throws while maintaining strong body control through the catch. With experience aligning both outside and in the slot, he adds further value through special teams contributions, highlighted by a kick return touchdown against Nevada this past season. Backed by consistent production at multiple levels and a play style defined by explosiveness, toughness, and reliability, Henry projects as a player ready to contribute at the next level.

Strong prospect for sure. Good hands, the thing that holds them back from being great hands is he doesn't extend or attack the ball. He almost always traps catches into his chest. His tremendous body control and route running lets him maintain leverage on the ball and work his way back to the ball and reduce the chance of DBs knocking the ball down.

Quick more then fast for sure, not that twitchy make you miss in a phone booth type but that great 1 cut and run that translates to the cfl soo well.

He sure isn't 6'1 or 6'0, but he plays bigger than he is.

I expect he has a better chance in the slot with all that room and the waggle.

Hansen back is solid. Limited rotational piece and teams upgrade over the end roster canadians. a guy who can eat some reps on the DL would be great but they will probably convert him at to Lber to get him on the roster LOL

On 2026-09-16 at 1:51 PM, GCn20 said:

It wasn't a 90-95k contract. It was 170k of which 70k was the signing bonus. Once paid we take on that cap hit no matter what. That means we have created 100k in cap space minus the cost of Durant's replacement which I generously qualified as close to league minimum 75k thus the true cap savings of Durant's release are 25k. Whenever a player is released you cannot calculate SMS savings as simply the remainder of their contract because that is categorically untrue because someone has to come in and fill that roster spot and that eats up some of the savings. It's business 101 stuff really. The only way that the full remainder of his contract becomes truly open on the SMS is if we chose to go with only 2 QBs and not roster a 3rd which NEVER happens in this league.

The only time this isn't applicable is when you are swapping guys out on the PR but that is because there is no SMS savings to be calculated.

Yes you're paying for a replacement QB, but you're also in theory carrying one less roster player elsewhere. So you save back that extra QB cost elsewhere.

Remove Durant and extra LB, add bighill and 3rd string QB.

36 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

Hansen back is solid. Limited rotational piece and teams upgrade over the end roster canadians. a guy who can eat some reps on the DL would be great but they will probably convert him at to Lber to get him on the roster LOL

Hansen still gets props for blowing up those two Hamilton guys in the 2019 Grey Cup but his real heroics were in the Saskatchewan game before that, where he single-handedly stuffed the Rider RB at the goal line. If the Riders had scored they probably would have won that game, and the drought would have kept going....

Can he still play? We're talking about a guy who made a play 7 years ago.

1 hour ago, kelownabomberfan said:

Hansen still gets props for blowing up those two Hamilton guys in the 2019 Grey Cup but his real heroics were in the Saskatchewan game before that, where he single-handedly stuffed the Rider RB at the goal line. If the Riders had scored they probably would have won that game, and the drought would have kept going....

100% he’s a lunch pail legend

Mittagessen Legende

3 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Can he still play? We're talking about a guy who made a play 7 years ago.

He's a German Jake Thomas.

9 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Can he still play? We're talking about a guy who made a play 7 years ago.

34 year old special teamer who hasn’t played all season.

4 hours ago, Arnold_Palmer said:

34 year old special teamer who hasn’t played all season.

I know Hansen is (was?) a crowd pleaser but Walters & Osh didn't want him 3 years ago when they let him walk in free agency. Now, he's a cheap alternative to finding someone else who may really help us. Back then, Hansen was still a capable player. We keep signing these older free agents while other teams are finding young players. I think sadly, that gives us a good indication of the level of our scouting dept under McManus.

16 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Can he still play? We're talking about a guy who made a play 7 years ago.

2019 legend? Right on the O'Shea wheel house

I get the Global punter thing since basically all punters are Aussies now....but why we aren't mining NCAA for "Globals" that could be a 8th-9th DL or 7th OL kind of drives me bonkers. There's basically no restrictions on how you sub them into the game. Get some guys who can play at least as good as your worst Canadians in the league.

18 hours ago, brett_c_b said:

Yes you're paying for a replacement QB, but you're also in theory carrying one less roster player elsewhere. So you save back that extra QB cost elsewhere.

Remove Durant and extra LB, add bighill and 3rd string QB.

How do you figure you are carrying one less roster player elsewhere? 3 Qbs are needed. Your math is dead wrong. Whenever you trim someone off the 53 regardless of position, you have to add one to the 53 to take his place. At QB, you replace with QB. At other positions whoever you are adding to the 53 to take the place of someone on the 53 you have to factor in the cost of doing so onto the SMS before you can realize what your SMS savings might be. COR. Sorry to be harsh but this is pretty basic stuff. Every slot on the 53 has to be filled and costs money. If you cut Brady Oliveira tomorrow and don't replace him with another running back on the 53, you still have to pay someone to go onto the 53 at least the league minimum. Therefore the savings are BO's game cheque minus whoever you add to the 53 game cheque. Never ever more. You simply cannot cut a player in order to save their entire remaining earnings to the SMS. COST OF REPLACEMENT must ALWAYS be factored in. ALWAYS. No avoiding it.

Your final calculation is correct that two players went off the 53 and two players went on. Therefore Durant minus 3rd string QB is the calculation for how much his cap savings represented. Bighill minus 3rd string LB is how much extra SMS we took on afterwards.

Edited September 21Sep 21 by GCn20