If it’s true that time heals all wounds, then this is admittedly going to take a while for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and every citizen in Bomberland.
Five straight trips to the Grey Cup is undoubtedly worthy of sticking chests out with pride, but it’s clearly also followed by a a collective shoulder slump after three straight losses in the championship game — the latest a 41-24 loss to the Toronto Argonauts in what was a one-point game in the fourth quarter before everything unravelled in the final 10 minutes.
So, heck yeah, that’s going to leave a mark and it’s going to be a bit before that open wound no longer stings.
ICYMI, we’ve had a series of post-mortems on our site, from visits with GM Kyle Walters, to head coach Mike O’Shea, to thoughts from inside the Blue Bombers dressing room in the immediate aftermath.
Still, while the sting still lingers, the CFL offseason is also well underway with two teams still searching for new head coaches in B.C. and Edmonton, with a blockbuster trade seeing the Lions deal QB Vernon Adams, Jr. to the Calgary Stampeders and with the league unveiling its official list of pending free agents, with the market set to open on February 11th at 11 a.m. CT.
And it’s with all of that in mind that we bust out the first of our offseason 1st & 10 columns, which will appear biweekly until training camp opens next spring.
In this edition, we look at seven questions/issues to which the Blue Bombers will be looking to answer or address before the 2025 squad gathers again…
1 SUCCESS HAS A PRICE
It’s surprising it has taken this long, but the five straight trips to the Grey Cup may finally be impacting the Blue Bombers coaching staff and football operations department.
Buck Pierce
Offensive coordinator Buck Pierce is a candidate for the head coaching vacancies with the Lions and Elks; defensive assistant Richie Hall is on the list for the defensive coordinator gig with the Ottawa RedBlacks while assistant GMs Danny McManus and Ted Goveia are to be interviewed for the GM job with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
How the Blue Bombers deal with those potential departures — whether they promote from within or look outside the building — will be an intriguing offseason development. Current offensive assistants Marty Costello, Kevin Bourgoin and Jason Hogan may be OC candidates — or join Pierce if he were to leave — while Darren Cameron and Matt Gulakow could see expanded roles in football ops if McManus or Goveia depart for Hamilton.
2 THE FREE AGENT LIST — THE AMERICANS
The Blue Bombers group of prospective free agents is at 27 after kicker Sergio Castillo was signed to a new deal last week. The group of Americans is 18 deep and the list falls into a few categories:
-Young proven starters or starters with potential upside in Evan Holm (26), Tony Jones (29), TyJuan Garbutt (25), Celestin Haba (25), Miles Fox 27) and Brian Cole (27).
-Future hall of famers in Willie Jefferson (33), Stanley Bryant (38), Adam Bighill (36) — the latter of whom is coming off knee surgery but vows to return.
Willie Jefferson
-Established vets Kenny Lawler (30), Brandon Alexander (31), Kyrie Wilson (32) Nick Taylor (36) and Lucky Whitehead (32).
-And players coming off season-ending injuries in Dalton Schoen (28), Jamal Parker (26) and Chris Streveler(29).
It’s impossible to have all 18 return under the cap and there are some intriguing free agent names who could potentially be candidates in a year in which Winnipeg is hosting the Grey Cup.
3. THE FREE AGENT LIST — THE CANADIANS
The Blue Bombers list of Canadian free agents features nine names and includes CFL All-Star corner Tyrell Ford, two starting guards in Liam Dobson — a West Division All-Star — and Patrick Neufeld, along with starting defensive tackle Jake Thomas, veteran special teams ace Shayne Gauthier, long-snapper Mike Benson, running back Johnny Augustine, fullback Bailey Feltmate and defensive back Noah Hallett.
Tyrell Ford
Ford and Dobson are both just 26 and, while potentially expensive heading into free agency, could also be cornerstone pieces for seasons to come. Neufeld, Thomas and Gauthier, meanwhile, have long been important pieces on the field and in helping shape the club’s vaunted locker-room culture.
4. CANADIAN DEPTH/FUTURE STARTERS
Further to the above — the Blue Bombers 2024 draft class yielded some potential gems in receiver Kevens Clercius, who started 12 games as a rookie, along with fullback Michael Chris-Ike, guard Gabe Wallace and defensive tackle Kyle Samson.
Kevens Clercius
Couple that group with promising defensive tackle Cam Lawson, who unfortunately missed the entire season due to injury, and whoever is landed in this year’s draft class and the Blue Bombers should be solid in Canadian content.
The Blue Bombers are currently scheduled to pick seventh in the first round after Edmonton forfeited their selection to grab receiver Zach Mathis in this year’s supplemental draft but could move up another spot if the Lions lose their pick for salary-cap violations. Winnipeg is also to again receive a bonus pick at the end of the second round — currently either 18th or 19th — for being one of two teams with the highest percentage of Canadian snaps in 2024.
5. THE QB PICTURE
The three men who dressed for the Grey Cup — Zach Collaros, Terry Wilson and Jake Dolegala — are all under contract for 2025. So, at first glance the Blue Bombers seem set with a proven No. 1 in Collaros along with a player with CFL experience in Dolegala and Wilson, who just finished his first year in the league. The club also re-signed prospect Darren Grainger, who had two brief looks this season — the first ending in injury, the second during the fall practice-roster expansion period.
Zach Collaros
Yet, it’s here where things could get interesting. The QB market could soon be flooded with names as Jake Maier is being squeezed in Calgary, with Dustin Crum and Jeremiah Masoli pending free agents in Ottawa, ditto Grey Cup MVP Nick Arbuckle and Cameron Dukes in Toronto, Cody Fajardo in Montreal, Trevor Harris and Shea Patterson in Saskatchewan, McLeod Bethel-Thompson and Tre Ford in Edmonton.
That offers some intriguing options for the Blue Bombers, who will have Collaros entering the final year of his contract and turning 37 next August.
6. THE RETURN NUMBERS
Lucky Whitehead finished the year with 1,001 combined punt and kickoff return yards on 69 touches in a half season of handling those chores after Myron Mitchell, Chris Smith and Kody Case all had in-season auditions, too.
The highlight moments for the veteran receiver were critical punt returns in the Labour Day Classic win in Saskatchewan and the regular-season finale first-place clinching victory in Montreal. The lowlights were fumbles in both the Western Final and Grey Cup.
Lucky Whitehead
This isn’t just about the organization moving on from Janarion Grant — remember he had missed 20 games over three seasons due to injury, including 10 in 2023 — or the fact that he absolutely shone with the Argos while being named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player.
What’s critical for the Blue Bombers is that with the CFL return landscape featuring Grant, James Letcher, Jr. in Montreal, DeVonte Dedmon in Ottawa, Mario Alford in Saskatchewan, B.C.’s Terry Williams, Peyton Logan in Calgary and Lawrence Woods III in Hamilton this cannot be a question mark heading into ’25.
Grant, Letcher, Jr. Alford and Williams all had over 100 returns with Woods III at 98 — that’s potentially too many important touches to once again leave to a committee.
7. RUN IT BACK VS. IMPLEMENT MORE CHANGE
The temptation might be there for Blue Bombers management to once again lean into a collection of vets which have given so much in this recent stretch and bring back as many as possible for another shot at glory — especially with the Grey Cup game in the club’s backyard.
In that respect, there would be few question marks if the team was to re-sign its collection of 30-something pending free agents like Alexander, Bighill, Bryant, Jefferson, Lawler, Lofton, Wilson, Taylor, Whitehead, Neufeld and Thomas.
Pokey Wilson — photo by Jamie Douglas
That said, the 2024 season also showcased the importance of injecting new blood into the lineup. Pokey Wilson was a 1,000-yard receiver while Clercius provided a physical element to the receiving corps. Tony Jones flashed at middle and weak-side linebacker. Terrell Bonds started every game at corner. Devin Adams (4), Garbutt (3), Jamal Woods (2) and Haba (1) combined to give the club 10 sacks along the defensive front while Michael Ayers, Keric Wheatfall and Michael Griffin III all made significant contributions and scream out as deserving of more work.
Somewhere in there is the perfect mix of vets and rookies. And finding the right concoction will be critical at another run come next November.