Blue Bombers' demise began in training camp: Collaros

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Published Nov 02, 2025 • 4 minute read

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Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros (8) looks to throw the ball during first half Eastern semi-final action against the Montreal Alouettes, in Montreal on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. Photo by Christopher Katsarov /The Canadian PressArticle content

Zach Collaros began his Sunday the way he begins every work day, picking up lineman Jake Thomas on his way to the stadium.

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This time, though, the two Winnipeg Blue Bombers talked about something they’ve never had to talk about before: Cleaning out their lockers to make room for another team to move in for Grey Cup week.

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“It’s definitely unsettling,” Collaros said. “It doesn’t feel great. Just the thought of having another team in your locker-room is tough.”

As he fielded questions one last time, the quarterback hit on another theme, one that dogged his team throughout what he calls the most frustrating season he’s experienced in Winnipeg: A passing attack that ranked dead-last in the CFL.

The 37-year-old took his share of the blame, as he always does. But he also acknowledged there was something wrong with the offence from the start, going back to training camp.

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“Training camp was tough this year, kind of a weird situation that we were put in,” Collaros said. “Repped a lot of things that we didn’t rep during the season. I didn’t get a lot of reps with guys who were playing.”

Some of that, he acknowledged, was due to the suspension for missing an off-season drug test that would keep him out of the first game.

But to run a bunch of plays they’d never use?

“Reps with what concepts do we like,” Collaros continued. “What can we, on second-and-six, second-and-five, with the game on the line, what are we going to call because we know we can execute the play? I don’t know if we had that this year.

“Getting good at something matters.”

That’s a telling line: Getting good at something matters.

The Bombers offence never found that go-to play. It never found its identity.

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Reps matter to Collaros

It frequently couldn’t even count on the running game, let alone the pass.

“We have guys that can play,” Collaros said. “Reps matter a lot, trying to figure out what you’re good at and honing in on that and getting grown in that. We need to get better in the passing game, for sure. That’s not just this season. Over the last couple seasons… it’s gotten tougher, for sure.

“There’s times where we look like we’re the best team in the league, and there’s times where it’s not right.”

It feels and looks like a team in decline.

“Certainly, at points this year, you could definitely make that assessment,” Collaros said.

What about the quarterback himself? All measurable signs point to a decline there, too.

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He says he can understand those questions.

“I don’t physically feel that way,” he said. “Mentally, I don’t feel that way. But I’d be hard pressed to argue with you if you said that I didn’t play good football this season.”

Collaros’s last two seasons have been similar, statistically.

This year, though, saw him record a losing record as a starter (6-7) for the first time since he was with Hamilton in 2017. Add the East semifinal loss to Montreal and it’s 6-8.

I’ve heard from those who say it’s time for this team to move on from No. 8.

I look at his diminished supporting cast and wonder what he’d look like with, say, Montreal’s receiving corps, an offensive coordinator like Anthony Calvillo and an offensive line like the one he had in 2019, when he helped this franchise end a 28-year Grey Cup drought.

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Collaros and his current O-linemen watched that 2019 Grey Cup game not long ago, awestruck by their own domination over Hamilton.

“What our offensive line did to Hamilton’s defensive line, we were just laughing, watching guys just being moved across the field,” he said.

This team has lost players like linemen Jermarcus Hardrick and Michael Couture and not adequately replaced them. Ditto receiver Kenny Lawler.

It lost coordinator Buck Pierce to a head coaching gig in B.C. and didn’t adequately replace him.

Players we talked to about first-year coordinator Jason Hogan mentioned “growing pains.”

All of the above affect the quarterback.

Collaros decline?

Asked about the reasons for his apparent decline, Collaros agreed there are several.

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“It’s myriad. Again, it’s hard for me to point fingers, but there are different ways to do it.”

Collaros’s own desire is to give this another go next year. He’s under contract, and there’s no heir apparent.

“I love this sport. I love this league,” he said. “I love this organization, first and foremost, and I love my teammates. I want to continue to do it, but I want to play good football.”

That only came sporadically this year.

Listening to the quarterback the day after their season was put to bed, you got the feeling some things have to change.

“We know you’re not going to make the Grey Cup every single year, you’re not going to win the Grey Cup every single year,” he said. “But it just never felt like we were moving in that direction.”

The truth is they’re moving away from it.

paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca

X: @friesensunmedia

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Blue Bombers’ demise began in training camp: Collaros

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