‘I don’t think they fully thought of the impact’ Bombers not convinced over drastic CFL changes By: Taylor Allen Posted: 7:10 PM CDT Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2025

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This article was published 23/09/2025 (370 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

News of the CFL’s rule changes didn’t sit right with Winnipeg Blue Bombers special teams co-ordinator Mike Miller on Monday.

“I kind of had a really weird feeling in my gut when they announced it. Just kind of a little sickening,” he said after Tuesday’s practice.

“I didn’t expect it. It didn’t sit well with me at the time — like I ate something bad.”

And while nobody on the Bombers went as far as B.C. Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke — who called the CFL’s recently announced rule changes “garbage” — it didn’t mean they were jumping up and down with excitement over the upcoming modifications to the three-down game.

“If we’re going to be altering the game and removing uniquely Canadian items from the game, I would never be in favour of that,” said head coach Mike O’Shea.

“Because it’s ours. Uniquely ours. I love it. It’s an exciting game. There are a couple items that I certainly am okay with. But I would still require a little more research on my part to sit down and actually put a game on and go through the items, go through the plays, and see how it’s going to work.”

First-year CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston referred to his announcement Monday as “the most significant in decades” for the league and how games will be played in the future.

By next season, the rouge — a uniquely Canadian rule — will be altered. A single point will no longer be awarded for a missed field goal or a punt that goes through the back of the end zone. The only way a rouge will be scored is if a returner gets tackled or takes a knee in the end zone on a kickoff, punt or missed field goal.

Also coming in 2026 is an automatic 35-second play clock to eliminate inconsistent timing, and all teams will be required to have their benches on opposite sides of the field on game day.

“I didn’t expect it. It didn’t sit well with me at the time – like I ate something bad.”

Changes to the field take shape in 2027, with goal posts being moved from the front of the end zone to the back of the end zone — which is how football is played in the United States. Plus, the field will shorten from 110 yards to 100 yards — effectively eliminating the 55-yard line — and the end zones will be cut down from 20 yards to 15. The 65-yard width will remain the same.

“There’s some stuff that you kind of scratch your head at, but there’s other things that make sense,” said receiver Nic Demski.

“So, you’re never going to be completely happy with everything, especially when they change something that’s been around for so long. But at the end of the day, my voice isn’t really going to change that. I play here, I love this game, and there’s still a lot of good things that are part of this game that we play. Some things got taken out, and I think it will also be a little bit of trial and error. At the end of the day, it is what it is.”

Trey Vaval set a franchise record in Saturday’s 26-18 win in Ottawa by returning a missed field goal 128 yards for a touchdown. Plays like that will become nearly extinct once the goal posts are relocated.

“I understand fans, players and coaches alike that don’t want things to change. On the other hand, if the task is to increase revenue and get more eyeballs on the game, I would imagine the people making those decisions have thought those things through,” said quarterback Zach Collaros.

“So, yeah, I don’t think it’s changing the CFL game that much. Or really, at all. I think the biggest change would be you’re not going to get as many returns on field goals. So, that’s something that I’ll miss and fans will miss. There’s still 12 players, the waggle, yard off the ball, the ratio didn’t change. Those things to me are the CFL. The way (the announcement) was amped up for 48 hours… I thought there was gonna be radical change. To me, it wasn’t that.”

The argument for moving the uprights is that it will open the middle of the end zone which, in theory, will lead to more touchdowns and potentially less field goals attempted.

This season CFL contests are averaging 54 points per game, which is the highest number the league has had since 2005.

“I think there will definitely be fewer field goals. It’s going to translate to the American leagues,” said kicker Sergio Castillo. “You see guys in the States, they kick 30 field goals a year, that’s a big year. Just how the field is going to be two years from now, (sigh), we’ll see how it plays out. You’re on the 30 now, you’re kicking 50-yarders.”

The Bombers would potentially have one less championship on their resumé if the goal posts weren’t where they currently reside.

On the final play of the 2019 Western Final in Regina, then-Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Cody Fajardo threw what could’ve been a game-tying pass to the end zone that bounced off the crossbar and sealed the victory for the Bombers. Winnipeg went on to beat Hamilton in the Grey Cup.

“Maybe when the goal posts get moved back we’ll pour a drink for them and thank them for their service at the front,” said guard Patrick Neufeld. “Ultimately you’ve got to try and look at the positives and where the league’s trying to head.”

The fear of many is that the league is heading down a path towards Americanization.

“We’re not privy to the extended plan. The idea that after two years this is where the changes stop, I don’t know,” said O’Shea. “That would be all speculation on my part. But we’re also not privy to an entire plan, really.”

For Miller, it’s also unnerving to think about what the changes — specifically the ones being made to the field of play — will do to Canadian football at the amateur level.

“So, if we’re trying to grow the brand for a younger audience, you’re gonna want those players to be playing on the same dimensions as their national pro league,” said Miller.

“So, is the league going to give money to all these communities that spent years to raise money to build that turf field? Or are they going to continue playing the old brand that we all love? To me, that’s another thing, the grassroots level that I don’t think they fully thought of the impact it’s going to have on the youth.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca