The last cut is the deepest

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This article was published 04/06/2023 (850 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mike O’Shea made no bones about the painful realities of cut-down day.

When asked about the process — which includes trimming a training camp roster that began with more than 100 players into an active roster of fewer than 50 — by local radio broadcast rights holder 680 CJOB following the Winnipeg Blue Bombers preseason finale on Friday, you could clearly hear the displeasure in the voice of the head coach.

“Nothing good about it,” O’Shea said. “Nothing good.”

Alas, like all nine teams in the CFL, the Bombers were forced to do some major roster surgery ahead of the CFL’s 10 p.m. deadline Saturday. After all was said and done, the Bombers have 48 players currently on the active roster, with another 13 added to the practice team.

In total, 25 players were released and sent home on Sunday. And with so many bodies returning from last season, there were few surprises. That’s not to say the whole ordeal was completely drama-free — never are things boring in the CFL.

Let’s dive a little deeper into the roster moves and how the Bombers got to their current group. It’s a group they will take into Week 1 of the regular season, with preparations for Friday’s tilt against the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats to begin in earnest come practice Monday.

1) It should be noted off the top that while the Bombers have 48 players on the active roster, they’ll have to trim that down to 45 by Thursday morning. That means three players will need to be added to the one-game injured list, joining O-lineman Tui Eli, or the six-game injured list, which currently houses linebacker Kyrie Wilson, defensive end Thiadric Hansen and fullback Konner Burtenshaw. It’s unclear at the moment who that will be, but with linebacker Adam Bighill, running back Brady Oliveira, defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat, dynamic returner Janarion Grant and defensive backs Desmond Lawrence and Winston Rose all out right now and having missed a significant amount or all of training camp, it would make sense that the three names will consist mostly or entirely of this group.

2) Also, when it pertains to the practice roster, players aren’t simply assigned there, they need to accept the role. While there are several examples in the past of players opting not to join the PR, I’m told this year no one declined.

3) The most notable departure is veteran kicker Marc Liegghio, who was released after spending the last two seasons with the Bombers. Liegghio was always going to be in tough to make the team after an inconsistent 2022 season, which included some critical blunders in the playoffs and Grey Cup games. It’s clear the Bombers just couldn’t trust Liegghio to do the job, and with the signing of veteran place kicker Sergio Castillo just before the start of camp and the drafting of a pair of Global punters in Jamieson Sheahan and Karl Schmitz a short time before that, the writing was on the wall. I imagine Liegghio gets a shot somewhere else — some local pundits in Edmonton are already suggesting the Elks might be interested — but this likely marks the final chapter in Winnipeg for the 26-year-old.

4) The Bombers were impressed with both Sheahan and Schmitz. Sheahan was always on the inside track owing to his age — at 26, he’s a full decade younger than Schmitz — but they clearly see something in Schmitz, too, as they offered him a spot on the PR.

5) Running back Jordan Salima looked good in his second preseason game, rushing seven times for 34 yards and a touchdown, while adding a pair of receptions for 34 yards. But the Bombers use a Canadian running back in Oliveira and with backup Johnny Augustine, another Canadian, at the ready, it’s too hard to justify having an American tailback on the PR, let alone the active roster.

6) Other names the Bombers were high on that were released include linebacker Barrington Wade, defensive end Aaron Sterling and kicker Chandler Staton. Two other players in receiver Tavaris Harrison and defensive lineman DeJaun Cooper, both of whom played five games for the Bombers in 2022, were also released.

7) It was a bit surprising that Winnipeg native and University of Manitoba alum Cole Adamson was outright released and not offered a PR spot. Adamson was asked to do the challenging task of converting from D-lineman to O-lineman during training camp. The move suggests the Bombers didn’t see enough from Adamson over the last three weeks to give him that opportunity to stick around and develop, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear his name again down the road.

8) Among the players added to the PR, a lot of credit belongs to receiver Jeremy Murphy. Murphy, who the Bombers selected in the third round (26th overall) out of Concordia University in the 2023 CFL Draft last month, opened some eyes with some clutch catches during the preseason, including a 34-yard reception on 2nd-and-27 against the Elks.

9) Three ‘23 draft picks — first-rounder DE Anthony Bennett and second-rounder DB Jake Kelly — both made the active roster, as well as Tanner Schmekel, the club’s fourth-round pick.

10) Certainly no surprise here, but Tyrrell Pigrome beat out Josh Jones for that No. 3 QB spot, in charge of short-yardage packages. Pigrome was dynamic in both preseason games, executing with his arm and legs. He’s a solid addition to the team, and while Dru Brown remains the No. 2 pivot, you have to think Pigrome isn’t far behind.

11) The Bombers are going with the same secondary they had in 2022, with the addition of Kelly, who will be used mostly on special teams. Ditto for the linebackers.

12) The D-line was an interesting battle at camp and an area the Bombers are a bit thin at beyond their starters. While Caleb Thomas managed to register a sack in each preseason game, Winnipeg decided to go with Celestin Haba as the lone American addition, behind Ricky Walker (Thomas was added to the PR). Haba only signed on May 30, and though he didn’t register a tackle in his lone preseason game, clearly the Bombers like what they have in the former member of the Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

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