Blue get last look at prospects

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This article was published 02/06/2024 (526 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s time to play some football that really matters.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers had their second and final tune-up on Friday in a 31-10 loss at home to the Calgary Stampeders to close out the preseason at 0-2.

The 24,297 fans in attendance had to sit through four quarters, and a severe weather delay for over half an hour, of watching mostly backups and camp bodies perform for the Blue and Gold.

The stakes will be much higher Thursday at Princess Auto Stadium when the Bombers open the 2024 campaign by taking on the Montreal Alouettes in a rematch of last year’s Grey Cup.

Before we spend all week talking about that, let’s revisit the result against Calgary and dive into the final roster cuts – which were announced early Sunday —with another edition of 5 Takeaways.

Smith shines brightest, gets cut

It looked like Chris Smith had just won himself a job.

The first half was a snoozefest until the final three minutes when he fielded a punt at the one and made a hard cut to the right sideline for a 109-yard score.

The Bombers had several positions holding ‘Now Hiring’ signs, and the return specialist gig had several finalists with Smith, a 24-year-old rookie, being one of four players who took a turn on Friday with Aron Cruickshank, Josh Vann and Myron Mitchell being the others.

Cruickshank had two punt returns for one total yard and Vann fumbled a kickoff.

Those two were released, and surprisingly, so was Smith.

It turns out he got hurt in the game and could miss a bit of time.

Mitchell, a receiver, had one kickoff against Calgary and made the squad. He returned kicks at the University of Alabama-Birmingham so he will be a name to keep an eye on for Week 1.

Wilson wins by default

So much for a quarterback battle.

Rookies Terry Wilson and Darren Grainger were set to duel it out to see who would become the third-string pivot.

Grainger, a 24-year-old rookie out of Georgia State who attended New York Jets mini-camp, didn’t cross the finish line as an injury took him out after just one quarter of work. Things didn’t go well in his extremely small sample size with one completion on six attempts. He was also sacked for a safety and had a bad handoff to Smith that led to the ball hitting the turf. In his defence, he was only with the team for five days before being under centre. Fair or not, he was cut.

Wilson had three quarters to get people excited but produced the following drives instead: punt, punt, punt, punt, field goal, interception, interception, punt, turnover on downs.

The 26-year-old, who made one start with the USFL’s Houston Roughnecks last year, wasn’t exactly working with an all-star lineup so don’t write him off based off of this showing. He looked good in the first preseason game and real comfortable in camp so the Bombers should feel OK with him slotting in behind Zach Collaros and Chris Streveler on the depth chart.

Two new pass catchers

It was nearly impossible to evaluate the receivers with Wilson and Grainger failing to move the chains.

The Bombers, however, saw enough to keep Myron Mitchell and Ontaria Wilson around. Josh Johnson and Keric Wheatfall were placed on the practice roster.

If Mitchell was retained to return kicks, then Wilson might be the one who starts at receiver alongside Dalton Schoen, Kenny Lawler, Nic Demski, and Drew Wolitarsky.

Wilson, 24, had two catches for 10 yards on Friday but has shown some promise in camp as he took reps with the first-team offence at times.

The 6-foot, 183-pounder was at Florida State during a tumultuous time where he had three different coaches in his six years with the program. In 36 starts, he caught 108 passes for 1,521 yards and 12 touchdowns with the Seminoles. He spent training camp with the Los Angeles Chargers before signing with Winnipeg back in November.

Mitchell, 25, also boasts a strong resume as he made the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent and dressed for a Monday night game against the Chicago Bears before taking his talents to the USFL.

With Schoen, Lawler and Demski commanding most of the targets, Wilson and Mitchell need to be guys who don’t mind doing the dirty work on offence.

Haba fights off rookies for DE role

Celestin Haba was always the favourite to fill Jackson Jeffcoat’s shoes on the d-line.

The second-year pro lacks size but has a relentless motor that led to four sacks in eight games last year.

Chauncey Rivers and Taylor Upshaw were two promising newcomers brought in to challenge Haba and were given the opportunity to showcase their skills by starting against the Stamps.

Rivers, who played four games for the Green Bay Packers in 2021, and Upshaw, a Michigan Wolverine for four seasons before closing out his NCAA career at Arizona, didn’t get to any of Calgary’s four quarterbacks that suited up and they were handed pink slips because of it.

In addition to star rusher Willie Jefferson, TyJuan Garbutt is the other American DE that made it. Garbutt is already known in the building after joining the club last July and dressing for the regular season finale.

If Haba and/or Garbutt don’t make a significant leap in Year 2, the d-line won’t be feared like it once was.

Secondary situation

There was a spot at corner for the taking and it appears Tyrique McGhee let it slip through his fingers.

The second-year Bomber, who was cut by the Los Angeles Rams after two failed drug tests, was burned for a 53-yard completion against Calgary and now finds himself on the practice roster.

McGhee will instead backup Terrell Bonds, a 27-year-old who played four games with the Baltimore Ravens in 2020. Bonds also played in the XFL and USFL before coming up north.

With Jamal Parker injured, Demerio Houston in Calgary, and Winston Rose unsigned, Bonds has a chance to establish himself in a secondary that needs some help.

As does Marquise Bridges, as he’s also in the mix after an impressive camp and preseason earned him a roster spot. Prior to joing the Bombers, Bridges, 27, won back-to-back Indoor Football League titles.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

X: @TaylorAllen31