Zach is back

You can knock Zach Collaros down, but he’s going to get back up.

The starting quarterback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers was a full participant at Thursday’s practice — a first since suffering a head injury in the Banjo Bowl.

The 38-year-old will be under centre when the Blue and Gold (7-8) host the Calgary Stampeders (8-8) on Saturday.

Considering his well-documented history of injuries above the shoulders, there’s been a lot of speculation on the outside about whether Collaros would — or should — return this season.

“Certainly, when you’ve been through things that could affect your health, you don’t make the decision lightly,” Collaros told a room full of reporters on Thursday.

“I appreciate people’s concern and care, and especially from our fans, but, again, when you’ve dealt with some of the things that I’ve had to deal with, you don’t make the decision lightly. I feel comfortable, very comfortable, with the decision I’ve made to play this week… I wouldn’t be out there if I didn’t feel comfortable.”

Collaros also revealed that he plans to keep playing next season. He’s currently in the final year of his contract.

“Yeah, I do. I like football,” he said.

The Bombers aren’t thinking about 2027 just yet. All focus is on this week in what will be one of the most important regular-season contests in recent memory.

Collaros couldn’t have returned at a better time.

“I’m fired up for it, for sure. (But) honestly, not a factor,” said Collaros. “It had more to do with just feeling right about being back out there.”

The play that put Collaros on the shelf seemed innocuous at first glance. After throwing an interception, he ran to the sideline to try to force the defender out of bounds and his helmet hit the turf.

“Yeah, I just didn’t feel great on that one,” said Collaros.

The Bombers placed the veteran pivot on the six-game injured list. But he wasn’t concerned about the injury being season-ending.

“Not in my head, no. There were still, obviously, things we wanted to talk about to make sure everything’s alright, and everything is alright,” said Collaros.

The Bombers went 0-2 without Collaros in his most recent absence. They’re 2-4 overall this season when backup Dru Brown has been forced to start.

“Just seeing his willingness to continue to get back out there after setbacks and everything like that is definitely inspiring,” said receiver Tim White.

“I believe when we were playing Ottawa (Week 11), he took a big hit, came out (of) the game, and he ended up coming back in the game. Seeing that from your teammate, it makes you go, ‘Bro, throw the ball over the middle, I’ll do whatever for you at this point,’ just because of his willingness to get out there and continue to be a leader for us.”

Since Collaros arrived in Winnipeg in 2019, the Bombers have grown accustomed to having their playoff berth all but secured by this point in the season.

That’s not the situation they find themselves in currently.

If Calgary wins Saturday, the Stampeders will clinch a playoff spot, and the Bombers will no longer control their own destiny with two games left. A Winnipeg victory, meanwhile, would give the Bombers the tiebreaker over Calgary.

Winnipeg also holds the tiebreaker over Saskatchewan (8-8). With a win, the Bombers would need to finish with the same record or better than at least one of Calgary and Saskatchewan to secure a place in the post-season.

“It’s not over yet. We are where we need to be right now,” said Collaros. “Everything we want to accomplish is still right in front of us. So, this week is a big one. We can still, again, accomplish the goal, and the goal is winning the Grey Cup. We still have the ability to do that so you can’t really judge the entire season until the end.”

While they’re certainly better with Collaros, he doesn’t solve everything. The Bombers have been wildly inconsistent on offence regardless of who’s throwing passes.

The club has given up the most sacks in the league and rank seventh in points scored (25.5 per game).

They’re also coming off a dismal showing in Montreal where they generated just six first downs in a 37-10 loss to the Alouettes.

Calgary stomped the Bombers 52-30 in Winnipeg back in Week 8 and is averaging a league-high 35.8 points per game.

“You would think we would be wounded, right? But if you walk around here, you wouldn’t even notice it,” said White.

“It seems like guys are competitive, they want to work, and I think we’re in a good spot.”

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