His name is already mentioned among the Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterbacking legends in this town like Ploen and Brock, Jones and Jacobs, Clements and Dunigan.

And yet it was a reflective Zach Collaros — this being his 37th birthday and all — who hinted after practice Wednesday that so much of his incredible Canadian Football League career seems to have unfolded a lot longer than he first expected.

Case in point, his answer when asked how long he envisioned playing when he started his pro career back in 2012 with the Toronto Argonauts:

“I thought I was going to get cut,” he said with a chuckle. “I’ll never forget when Scott (Milanovich, then the Argos head coach) brought me in and said, ‘We’re going to keep you’ and I thought, ‘What?!’ He said, ‘We’re going to put you on this thing called the nine-game (injured list) and hide you.’ I was like, ‘Cool. What’s that pay?’ He said, ‘You’ll get your full salary’ and I said, ‘all right, count me in.’”

Now some 13 years later and heading into the 168th game of his career in this Sunday’s Labour Day Classic against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Collaros has a career record of 87-51, including a 53-19 record in Winnipeg that is the best winning percentage in Blue Bombers history.

He has won two CFL Most Outstanding Player Awards, both earned here in Winnipeg, and with 90 passing yards this weekend would move past both Michael Reilly (34,805) and Dieter Brock (34,830) and into 15th place on the CFL’s all-time passing yardage list.

Again, heady company for a guy who didn’t think he was going to make the Argos in 2012 and continues to take that approach, despite his considerable success. Consider this: asked if he looks at things differently now knowing his football career finish line is closer now than 10 years ago, Collaros grinned, then said:

“Man, I’ve said this to Darren (Cameron, Blue Bombers Director of Player and Public Relations) probably a million times — I always thought my finish line was the next day. I always think, ‘When are they going to figure out they should probably bring somebody else in for this job?’ I’ve always had that thought.”

Collaros mentioned that’s partly an imposter’s syndrome but as his career has unfolded, he also used that approach to hone his own process which includes massive amounts of film study and his leadership skills.

Head coach Mike O’Shea highlighted Collaros’ competitive fire, but a few other intangibles, too, that have him still among the CFL’s elite pivots.

“There’s more than a couple when you get to this level,” said O’Shea. “You’ve got to have bunches of things that when you play to his level — that level of excellence — you’ve simply got some intangibles that other people don’t, especially at that position.

“That competitive fire, you’d like to say it’s the same in everybody at this level but everybody’s got different degrees of it. And then he’s got just vision and feel that the really, really good ones have. I mean, he’s athletic, he takes care of his body, he’s strong… a lot of the stuff that allows people to play a long time. But he’s got a vision and feel for the game and the space around him that the really good ones have. It’s instinctual.”

A dual-threat QB when he came to the CFL out of Cincinnati, Collaros has morphed into a pivot who moves effectively around the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield for the big strike, or flipping a pass to Brady Oliveira like a shortstop connecting with a second baseman to turn a double-play.

Again, so much of that comes with time and experience.

“With more reps you get a better understanding of what you’re doing,” he explained. “I probably do a better job of keeping myself out of sticky situations (than 10 years ago).

“The numbers don’t always say that but if I went back and watched myself 10 years ago I’d probably go, ‘What the hell am I doing?’ A lot of stuff back then I could get away with because I could move around and run — I’m not saying I’m not able to do that any more, it’s just not at as high of a rate and it looks way worse.

“It’s just having an overall understanding of this game and what it takes to win week in and week out. Again, the numbers don’t always reflect a winning football game. I’m not just saying that for me, I’m saying that for every quarterback or every offensive unit. Sometimes you’ve got to burn a ball. It might hurt your completion percentage. Sometimes you’ve got to take a sack or not take a sack. Those things all add up and compound over the course of the game. It’s understanding those moments.”

What’s also changed over time is his perspective. That comes naturally as the calendar flips from one year to the next and as a guy gets married and has a family, all of which are priority No. 1 for the proud product of Steubenville, Ohio.

“Obviously this game matters a lot. And a lot of my life — if not everything in my life — is owed to the game of football,” said Collaros. “So, it matters a ton. But it’s also making sure I keep that in perspective. We’ve talked about this a lot over the years… what’s really important. It’s understanding that and not trying to put too much of an emphasis on happiness and those kinds of things on this — it is important week in, week out but the health of my family is what I thank God for every day and just keeping that in the back of my head.”

To that end, the Collaros media session opened Wednesday with what would make for a good birthday present.

“Go home and have a nice dinner and chill with the family,” he said while holding a tupperware container of one of his favourite dishes prepared by his wife. “And, obviously, if we get a win this weekend that would be a nice cap.”

OUCH UPDATE: Some more good news on the injury front, although it’s not yet a green light — Nic Demski, who left last week’s win over Montreal in the first half, was back practising on Wednesday. He wasn’t a full participant, with Gavin Cobb still getting a lot of work in his place, but was back in a helmet and shoulder pads.

As well, OL Micah Vanterpool, DB Enock Makonzo and LB Jonathan Jones were all full participants.

Injury Report: August 27, 2025#ForTheW | @DoctorsManitoba pic.twitter.com/NXLRPdKCpM

— Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) August 27, 2025