The Winnipeg Blue Bombers long, long wait for quarterback Taylor Elgersma is now over.

Elgersma and the Blue Bombers officially agreed to terms on a standard rookie contract (two years plus an option) late Thursday afternoon and the Canadian pivot will now report for rookie camp on May 6th.

He will hold a Zoom call with the media Friday afternoon.

Selected in the second round, 18th overall, in last year’s CFL Canadian Draft, Elgersma was signed by the Green Bay Packers last May as an undrafted NFL free agent. He attended training camp with the Packers and appeared in three NFL preseason games, completing 16-of-23 passes for 166 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

He was released by the Packers after training camp and then had NFL looks from the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins before joining the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL.

The Stallions are already three games into their 2026 season but Elgersma had yet to suit up for the team as he was not able to secure his U.S. work visa, despite multiple attempts by the Birmingham management staff.

“I’ve got a lot of things to say about it, I’m just going to leave it as it’s something you should probably ask the league about,” said Stallions head coach AJ McCarron in an interview with @Birmingham Sport last Friday.

“It’s been a nightmare to deal with and I’ve gone as a GM, head coach and now an immigration officer, having to do a lot of things. I’m trying as much as I can. I have everybody on it that I know… for me to call Senator Tuberville and work with the State of Alabama.”

McCarron said the club would continue to pursue landing the work visa for Elgersma right up until Wednesday of this week. When those attempts failed, Elgersma — who had committed to the Stallions in the hopes his work there might get him another NFL look — then turned his attention to the Blue Bombers and a return to Canada.

His addition changes the Blue Bombers quarterback room significantly. Zach Collaros remains the clear-cut QB1 as a former two-time winner of the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player Award and won of the most prolific passers in franchise history. He is also now 37 and heading into the final year of his current contract while coming off a season in which he missed five starts.

With veteran Chris Streveler having recently retired and Chase Artopoeus also opting to step away from the game, Terry Wilson is now the lone quarterback behind Collaros with CFL experience. That said, while he has dressed for 36 games over the last two seasons, he has attempted just 21 passes, completing 11, in limited action — most of it in a win over the Montreal Alouettes in last year’s regular season finale in which some veterans were rested for the playoffs.

The club also signed two other pivots in the offseason.

Bryce Perkins, 29, was the UFL’s MVP and Offensive Player of the Year last season with the Michigan Panthers and also started one game during his time with the Los Angeles Rams, including being part of their Super Bowl LVI championship.
Payton Thorne, 24, was in camp last season with the Cincinnati Bengals after signing as an undrafted free agent. He spent three seasons at Michigan State before transferring to Auburn where he made 22 starts.

Elgersma now brings his considerable U Sports resumé to Winnipeg’s QB fold. A 6-5, 227-pound beast with a howitzer arm, he was compared by Collaros to Ivan Drago, the fictional gigantic Russian fighter in Rocky IV.

“I threw one time with him last year,” said Collaros in February of Elgersma. “Walked in, I just couldn’t believe how tall he was. I didn’t know who he was, to be quite honest with you. I thought he was a tight end or a left tackle or something. Not that he’s a heavy dude, but he’s big. Like Ivan Drago, honestly. Really, it was like, ‘If he dies, he dies.’  (Quote from Drago after his pounding of Apollo Creed leads to him dying in Rocky’s arms).

“Big guy. He throws it very hard. Seemed like a good guy. Spent about an hour and a half throwing with him. I think this was before we drafted him. Seemed like a great dude, and has a lot of physical gifts, for sure.”

Elgersma was sensational during his days at Wilfrid Laurier, where he was a U Sports First Team All-Canadian in 2024 and a Second Team All-Canadian in 2023.

He capped his collegiate career by capturing the Hec Crighton Trophy as the top player in U Sports football in 2024 after throwing for 4,252 yards and 35 interceptions against 11 interceptions for the Golden Hawks. He then became the first quarterback from a Canadian university to participate in the Senior Bowl, which earned him so much NFL attention over the last year.

Rookies are on the field for Blue Bombers training camp from May 6-8th, with main camp opening on Sunday, May 10th.