Oliveira MOP finalist

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/10/2024 (366 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brady Oliveira has punched his ticket to Grey Cup week and he’s hoping the rest of his teammates follow suit.

Oliveira will be going to Vancouver regardless of what happens in next Saturday’s Western final, where he and the rest of his Winnipeg Blue Bombers teammates will play the winner between the B.C. Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders for a chance to make it to the championship game for a fifth consecutive year.

The Winnipeg native was named West Division nominee for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player, marking the second consecutive year Oliveira is up for the league’s most prestigious award. He’s the only Bombers to come out of the West.

“It’s obviously a great honour. Great to be recognized,” Oliveira said after Thursday’s closed practice. “Can’t do it without my teammates, my coaches, coming in every day to work with such a great group of men that allows me to go out there and play my best for them. We just have such a great work environment here, where we’re able to work together and to push each other every single week to be the best version of ourselves.”

Oliveira lost out to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly last year, following a 2023 campaign when he eclipsed 2,000 yards from scrimmage, including a league-leading 1,534 rushing yards, while also totalling 13 touchdowns. He is up against another QB from the East, this time Hamilton Tiger-Cats pivot Bo Levi Mitchell.

While Mitchell struggled to find wins with the lowly Ticats, leading Hamilton to a 7-11 record, he still managed to lead the CFL in passing yards (5,451) and TDs (32). Meanwhile, Oliveira once again paced the league in rushing yards in 2024, with 1,353, and set a new single-season high for receptions (57), reeling in another 476 yards through the air to go with four TDs.

“When I look back at my season, this regular season compared to last regular season, I think I was productive. That’s what I kind of want to do every single week, is to be productive for my teammates,” Oliveira said. “I know when I’m productive, good things happen for this football club. So, that was my thing, and just being consistent every single week. It’s pro sports, it’s hard to stay consistent, and I think the great ones, when you look back at people’s careers, they were consistent. Not every single week, but every year they tried to stay somewhat consistent. I take great pride in that. That’s why I work extremely hard in-season, but in my off seasons, too, to continue this consistency up every single season.”

Oliveira will also represent the West for Most Outstanding Canadian, an award he won last season and should win again this year. He’s up against Montreal Alouettes defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund, whose seven sacks was one shy of the league lead.

As great as it would be to be recognized league-wide as the game’s top player, Oliveira has bigger fish to fry. He’s been part of the last four Grey Cups, the last two of which have ended in heartbreaking fashion, losing on a pair of late fourth-quarter drives.

“Aside from all these awards — obviously, this is great — but I’m worried about a Grey Cup. We you know what happened the last two Grey Cups. I’m sick and tired of going there and losing the final game of the season, and so I got more motivation than ever,” Oliveira said. “I know what needs to be done in the playoffs, coming up in the West final. I know what I need to do for us to have a great shot of winning this game and going to the Grey Cup, and then, ultimately, you have one last game, and you need to lay it all on the line there. I’m sick and tired of losing the Grey Cup. We need to go there and get the job done. I need another ring, man. I need another ring.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jeffkhamilton