Collaros gets the call

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/10/2019 (2145 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will never admit it, but it was only a matter of time before Zach Collaros got his shot to be the team’s starting quarterback.

On Thursday, it was made official that Collaros would be under centre tonight when the Bombers host the Calgary Stampeders at IG Field for their regular-season finale. Chris Steveler, who took over when No. 1 pivot Matt Nichols went down with a season-ending shoulder injury, has been placed on the one-game injured list.

When Collaros arrived in Winnipeg two weeks ago in a trade with the Toronto Argonauts, Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea made it clear it was still “Chris Streveler’s team.” Despite Streveler being on crutches after last weekend’s 37-33 loss in Calgary, O’Shea waited until Thursday to name Collaros his starter.

However, Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson wasn’t fooled. He believes Collaros was destined to start for the Bombers, even if Streveler was healthy.

“I knew when they traded for Zach, we would see Zach,” Dickenson told reporters at IG Field on Thursday. “I knew that. I don’t know if Mike will admit that. He has the final say, he could prove me wrong, but you don’t trade for a guy with that experience and not start him before the playoffs. I knew he would be in.”

O’Shea told reporters after Thursday’s walk-through that if the game was on Saturday, Streveler might have been ready to go. But with Streveler out, it was between Collaros and rookie Sean McGuire, who only has two career passing attempts. O’Shea was asked why he felt comfortable choosing Collaros — a guy who hasn’t played an in-game snap since Week 1.

“There’s lots. He’s learned the playbook quickly. He’s a pro. He’s been on a team that won a Grey Cup and led another team to the Grey Cup. He’s been through this time of year before, lots of times before. He’s a good quarterback. I mean, one of the most important things about bringing him in was having a veteran guy and a guy that you knew could fit,” O’Shea said.

As intriguing as it will be to see what Collaros can do for the Bombers, it’s also difficult to not feel worried about the 31-year-old quarterback’s health once he steps on the field for live game action. Collaros was diagnosed with two concussions last season with the Roughriders. The bad luck followed Collaros into 2019 as he suffered a concussion in Week 1 in only the third play of the game after he was hit in the head by Hamilton Tiger-Cats linebacker Simoni Lawrence. The hit caused Collaros to lose his starting job to Cody Fajardo, before ultimately being traded to Toronto at the end of July.

Collaros said there’s no reason to worry about his past — he feels good and he’s taken all the necessary steps to get back on the field.

“I appreciate peoples’ concern, but I said this earlier, I trust the doctors and the specialists that we’ve seen,” Collaros said.

“Honestly, hats off to every doctor I’ve worked with throughout this whole process. This year’s been a crazy year and the Argos organization did a really good job of checking all those boxes off. They were really thorough with it and I appreciate them for that. It definitely gave me some ease, and especially my wife.”

In practice this week, Bombers running back Andrew Harris said he’s been talking to Collaros on every rep in order to help them get on the same page for tonight. Harris has been impressed with how quickly Collaros has picked up the offence and thinks his new quarterback will do just fine.

“He’s very calm, collected. He’s got a great arm,” Harris said. “I didn’t realize how stocky and big he was. He’s got a great frame on him. Obviously, he runs the ball well out of the pocket and can scramble well and he makes all those great, big throws, so definitely excited to see what he can do on the field.”

Collaros admits it’s been a crazy two weeks, but the team, especially Nichols and quarterbacks coach Buck Pierce, have done a lot to make him comfortable with the offence and his new surroundings.

“There wasn’t a moment where I was like ‘Man, this kind of sucks. I’m the new guy.’ There (weren’t) any feelings of that,” Collaros said.

While the Bombers are hoping to close out the regular season with a win and keep their slim chances of hosting a home playoff game alive, tonight’s game will undoubtedly have more on the line for Collaros. A strong performance could lead to O’Shea giving Collaros the reigns for the playoffs. It could also potentially help Collaros earn a nice payday in the off-season when he hits the free-agent market.

Does Collaros view tonight as an opportunity to get his career back on track?

“It’s certainly an opportunity for me. Any time you get to play, it is,” Collaros said.

“I haven’t really thought much about your question, really. From the moment I got here, it just was I want to learn the playbook and I wanted to show to my teammates that I’m prepared and know what I’m doing.

“Yeah, it’s a big game, but every game is a big game. We want to do everything we can to win. That’s the main focus.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31