Big Blue busy during bye week

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/10/2023 (728 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

What does a bye week look like for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers?

If you asked the 60-plus players who are under contract, you’d likely get over 60 different answers.

Some of those answers are more glamorous than others.

“I changed a lot of poopy diapers,” said defensive end Willie Jefferson, who now lives in Winnipeg with his wife Holly and their two young daughters, after Tuesday’s first practice back at IG Field.

“I was a stay-at-home-dad and I enjoyed every minute of it.”

Jefferson typically uses the time off to take the family on a tropical vacation or back home to Texas, but with last week being the team’s third and final break of the regular season, the defender opted to take it easy.

It was a different story for kicker Sergio Castillo who will use any bye that comes during the school year to fly home to Amarillo, Texas, to be with his wife Adriana, a teacher and soccer coach, and their two-year-old son Jared.

It’s quite the journey as Castillo’s flight path is usually Winnipeg to Calgary, Calgary to Dallas, and then finally Dallas to Amarillo, but it’s one he’s happy to make. When Castillo is busy working up north, he makes time for his son by FaceTiming him before every practice and game.

“My son is at an age where he’s starting to get emotional when I leave,” said Castillo. “He can be mad, he can be frustrated, angry, so I don’t want to spend too much time away from them.”

The Bombers last took the field on Oct. 6 — a thrilling 34-26 road win over the B.C. Lions to put themselves in the driver’s seat in the West Division with a 12-4 record — so players and staff had eight days off before they had to return to town to begin preparation for Saturday’s home tilt against the Edmonton Elks (4-13).

“The other two were six days each, so this one was perfect. Felt rested, had a good time with the fam, but by the last day, I was like OK, I feel rejuvenated. I’m ready to finish this thing,” said Castillo.

Running back Brady Oliveira always finds ways to keep busy. Last month’s bye saw the 26-year-old from Winnipeg drive nearly six hours north to Berens River First Nation in a cargo van to rescue 45 cats and dogs. This time around, Oliveira did some travelling. His girlfriend has family in B.C. so they spent a few days in Whistler after the game.

Oliveira then finished the week by taking a road trip to Grand Forks, N.D., to see his old school, the University of North Dakota, take on their big rival, North Dakota State, in Missouri Valley conference football action. Wide receiver Rasheed Bailey and defensive back Evan Holm, another UND alum, made the drive with Oliveira.

“We did a little autograph signing at the tailgate, me, Rasheed and Evan, and we were able to connect with old fans and familiar faces and it was good,” said Oliveira.

“But the one thing that stood out was there was this one person, a big supporter of mine who followed my UND career and now my pro career with the Bombers, who brought his puppy who had a North Dakota sweater on and said ‘I need you to sign my dog’s sweater.’”

Oliveira and Holm were all smiles returning to Winnipeg as UND gave ND State a 49-24.

“I wish I personally had the opportunity to put it on NDSU like that because I only played them once and it was my freshman year in the Fargodome when (NFL quarterback) Carson Wentz was playing and they absolutely whooped us,” said Oliveira.

“The boys that had a chance to play on Saturday, they’ll remember that for the rest of their life and I hope they know it’s special because that’s one of the greatest rivalries in college football.”

As much as league’s leading rusher enjoyed catching up with old friends and former teammates, he could live without three weeks off during the season.

“I hate bye weeks because it’s hard to get back into things. It’s hard to get the legs back into it. Even a week away, I was still working out and training, but you still gotta get your breath back, get your lungs back. It’s different,” said Oliveira.

“It’s hard to train for football. You have to be on the field doing it. I always tell the guys that I’d rather be stuck in the grind. I’d be cool with one bye week in the middle of the season. Give me one bye week and let me grind out the rest of the games… But that’s just me.”

Bailey used the second bye, the week after the 29-23 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Tim Hortons Field on Sept. 16, to return to his hometown of Philadelphia. He finds one trip home per season does the trick for him, especially this year as he used the other two weeks to devote some time to rehab nagging injuries.

“You get pulled in so many directions when you go home. I don’t want to be exhausted from giving so much of myself away that when I come back here, it’s just too much,” said Bailey.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

The Warm-Up

Winnipeg Jets Game Days

On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.

Sign up for The Warm-Up

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

“I didn’t want to do that twice. I got enough of what I needed to get my reset, to see my family and the people that I love, but this bye week was meant for me to get myself back and it was really good to do it.”

With a win over Edmonton on Saturday, or if the Lions lose Friday against the Calgary Stampeders (5-11), the Bombers will clinch the division crown and earn themselves another week off. More importantly, it would mean Winnipeg would host the West Final on Nov. 11 and be one victory away from returning to a fourth straight Grey Cup.

“We’ve got to take care of business for that to happen,” said Castillo. “And who wouldn’t like a first round bye, right?”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

X: @taylorallen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.