Photo: New England Patriots
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have signed American running back J.J. Taylor.
The 28-year-old signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2020 and spent three seasons with the team, rushing for 156 yards, catching six passes for 20 yards, and scoring two touchdowns over 12 regular-season games. He also returned one punt for 11 yards and five kickoffs for 112 yards.
The native of Corona, Calif. signed with the Houston Texans in 2023 and spent two years with the team, dressing for five regular-season games. He rushed 10 times for 44 yards and caught two passes for zero yards but was released by Houston this past August.
The five-foot-ten, 185-pound speedster played collegiately at the University of Arizona. He played 49 games and rushed 587 times for 3,263 rushing yards, caught 62 passes for 487 yards, and scored 20 touchdowns. Taylor was named first-team All-Pac 12 in 2018.
The Blue Bombers also signed American receiver Dorian Singer and American linebacker Micah Cretsinger.
Singer finished his collegiate career at Utah in 2024, where he caught 53 passes for 702 yards and one touchdown. He played at USC the previous year, where he made 24 receptions for 289 yards and three scores in 12 games.
The six-foot, 191-pound target started his collegiate career at Arizona, where he made 66 grabs for 1,105 yards and six touchdowns over 12 outings.
The native of St. Paul, Minn. attended training camp with the Jacksonville Jaguars after going unselected in the 2025 NFL Draft. He made seven catches for 59 yards during the preseason but didn’t make the club’s final roster.
Cretsinger had a brief stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2024 and the Ottawa Redblacks in 2025, though he didn’t see any regular-season action with either team.
The six-foot, 238-pound native of Jacksonville, Fla. played collegiately at Saginaw Valley State where he made 271 total tackles, 32.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, 10 interceptions, 10 pass knockdowns, seven forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and five touchdowns over 44 games. He was named All-Conference four times.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers finished fourth in the West Division standings in 2025 with a 10-8 record, qualifying for the playoffs as the crossover team before losing the East Semi-Final to the Montreal Alouettes. Zach Collaros threw for 3,048 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions over 13 regular-season games, going 6-7 as a starter.
The Blue Bombers ranked fifth in net offence, third in net defence, and eighth with a turnover differential of minus-eleven. The club’s leading rusher was Brady Oliveira with 1,163 yards, leading receiver was Nic Demski with 1,001 yards, and leading tackler was Tony Jones with 104 tackles. Winnipeg ranked first in attendance with average crowds of 32,343, which was a 3.7 percent increase from the previous year.