Grey Cup hopes begin anew

THE Winnipeg Blue Bombers are hoping that 2025 was nothing more than a bump in the road.

Going 10-8 and losing a hard-fought division semifinal might not be so bad in other markets, but excellence is expected around these parts after the Blue and Gold appeared in five consecutive Grey Cups from 2019-24.

The first step towards finding out if this year’s group are championship contenders or pretenders starts Wednesday with the opening of rookie camp. The veterans will report for training camp on Sunday.

To recap the past few months and to set the table for what lies ahead, here’s an early season preview for the Bombers.

Training camp stories

QB Depth:

The biggest story heading into main camp is the battle for the No. 2 gig behind Zach Collaros. With Chris Streveler retiring, there’s an obvious opening at backup quarterback and there’s several intriguing names in the mix.

Terry Wilson is the early favourite considering he’s heading into Year 3 with the club. He’s got the arm talent and can make all the throws, but his decision making and consistency needs to improve for him to fend off the competition.

Bryce Perkins is Wilson’s biggest threat and is one of the most intriguing CFL newcomers in the entire three-down loop. He was named the UFL’s MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in 2025 with the Michigan Panthers after leading the spring league in yards-per-attempt (8.5), and passer rating (108.7). He was signed by the Los Angeles Rams in 2020 as an undrafted free agent out of Virginia and won the Super Bowl the following year.

There’s also no shortage of hype surrounding Taylor Elgersma, the Canadian pivot out of Wilfrid Laurier who the Bombers spent a second round pick on in last year’s draft. The former Hec Crighton Trophy winner has the prototypical size he flashed during the 2025 pre-season with the Green Bay Packers before getting cut. He finally signed with Winnipeg last month after failing to secure a work visa to play in the UFL with the Birmingham Stallions. Payton Thorne saw some action in the pre-season last year with the Cincinnati Bengals after putting up some big numbers as a senior at Auburn.

It’s been a long time since the Bombers have had this many promising young passers at camp. With not a lot of reps to go around, the hopefuls will have to make the most of the two pre-season games (May 23 at Saskatchewan and May 29 at home against B.C.) to state their respective cases.

 

Loaded at Linebacker:

There are only two starting linebacker jobs on this defence and there’s currently three standout linebackers on the roster.

It’s a great problem to have, but something’s gotta give.

Middle linebacker Tony Jones was one of the best players on the team last season and finished second in the CFL in tackles, so he’s not going anywhere. That leaves Kyrie Wilson and Jovan Santos-Knox to duel it out at weak-side.

Wilson is one of the longest tenured Bombers and played all 18 games in 2025 after four injury-riddled seasons. Santos-Knox, who broke into the CFL with Winnipeg in 2017, unexpectedly signed with the Bombers in February and is coming off a campaign where he was Ottawa’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player.

With Wilson, 33, being two years older and having a history of injuries, he could be the odd man out.

 

Free Agency Additions:

The Bombers opened their wallets this winter and made a massive splash in free agency.

They signed former B.C. Lions left tackle Jarell Broxton and made him the highest paid American offensive lineman in the league at $250,000 per on a two-year deal. He’ll move over to right tackle with Stanley Bryant holding things down on the left side.

They also inked versatile defensive lineman Jake Ceresna to a similar contract that will pay him an average of $245,000 over the next two seasons.

In addition to bolstering their trenches, they signed receivers Tim White and Tommy Nield, defensive back Jonathan Moxey and Santos-Knox.

You don’t win championships in the off-season, but on paper this is a much better team than the one that lost last year’s East Division semifinal in Montreal.

The last thing the Bombers want to see from any of these investments is a repeat of the Dillon Mitchell saga. Mitchell, a former standout pass catcher for Edmonton, was one of their prized signings ahead of the 2025 season. He showed up to camp out of shape and failed to make an impact.

 

Three players to watch

1. QB Zach Collaros

No more excuses can be made for Collaros.

His old pal Tommy Condell replaced Jason Hogan at offensive co-ordinator, and the Bombers made significant upgrades at O-line and receiver.

Everything is in place for the 37-year-old to bounce back after two lacklustre seasons. QB play is strong in the West with Nathan Rourke (B.C.), Trevor Harris (Saskatchewan), Vernon Adams Jr. (Calgary) and Cody Fajardo (Edmonton) and the Bombers need Collaros to be better to return to the top of the mountain.

 

2. C Tui Eli

Eli might be the most patient man in all of football. After five seasons of predominantly being used as a reserve offensive lineman, the 30-year-old from Richmond, B.C., finally seems to be in position to start after the Bombers cut veteran Chris Kolankowski in the off-season. The Bombers could run with an all-Canadian interior again with Gabe Wallace (16 starts last season) at left guard, Eli in the middle and trusty veteran Pat Neufeld at right guard. Another option would be rolling with three Americans and using third-year Bomber Micah Vanterpool over Wallace.

 

3. DT Cam Lawson

Lawson also knows a thing or two about being patient. When the Bombers acquired him from Montreal after his rookie season in 2021, it felt like it was only a matter of time until he’d replace veteran Jake Thomas at starting defensive tackle. Thomas just kept chugging along, though, until he announced his retirement this winter to become the new D-line coach. The 27-year-old Lawson will now get a chance to show what he can do in a full-time role. The Caledon, Ont., product recorded 21 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble in 16 games last season as a rotational piece.

 

X-FACTOR:

Offensive co-ordinator Tommy Condell

The Jason Hogan experiment was a colossal failure.

Under the first-year playcaller, the Bombers finished seventh in scoring (23.1 points per game), fifth in net offence (345.7 yards), second in rushing (124.7 yards), dead last in passing (235 yards), and committed the second most turnovers (45).

Head coach Mike O’Shea finally admitted in December that they needed someone with more experience to lead the offence and hired Tommy Condell.

To Hogan’s credit, he agreed to stay on staff as the running backs coach.

Condell got his CFL start in Winnipeg way back in 1997 when Jeff Reinebold hired him as special teams co-ordinator. He’s since been with the Ottawa Renegades (2004-05), Saskatchewan Roughriders (2006), Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2014-15; 2020-23) and Toronto Argonauts (2017-18) before spending the last two seasons at OC for the Ottawa Redblacks.

Condell and Collaros had a lot of success working together in Hamilton and have remained close friends over the years.

But will he be an ideal fit for superstar running back Brady Oliveira? Condell has never had a rushing attack rank higher than fourth in his nine years as an OC dating to 2013.

He’ll need to adjust his tendencies to make sure the face of the franchise gets fed early and often.

 

winnipegfreepress.com/taylorallen