It’s hardly a newsflash given what has unfolded over the last few days, but it is now officially official: the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will head into Steeltown this week to start the final third of their Canadian Football League schedule without starting quarterback Zach Collaros.

Collaros was injured in the third quarter of the Banjo Bowl loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders last Saturday after being sacked by defensive back CJ Reavis and hitting the ground heavily. And while he eventually got up and ran off the field and was in attendance at practice this week although not participating, he has now been ruled out with a head injury.

The Blue Bombers, 6-6, will now turn to veteran Chris Streveler for Friday night’s game in Hamilton against the Tiger-Cats, with Terry Wilson and Chase Artopoeus available in the quarterback bullpen.

“He’s the same as Zach in that he’s a fiery competitor, a guy who is locked in and who is all about team,” said veteran left tackle Stanley Bryant of Streveler. “He’s a guy that will go out there and sacrifice his body, that will put the best effort forward in whatever way to help this team win.

“They’re both the same in the huddle. Both fierce guys who will yell at you from time to time — and that’s a good thing — because they want everybody to be in the right spots, they want everything to be perfect so they can make their read and make plays. Both those guys love football; they love to compete.”

Friday’s game will mark the third time Collaros has missed a start this season, the first due to suspension, the second two after injury. He’s also not finished three other games this season with what had been designated as neck injuries.

The Blue Bombers are 2-0 in games in which Streveler has started in ’25, as he completed 15-of-24 passes for 246 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in the season-opening win over the B.C. Lions and then was 17-of-21 for 173 yards with three picks in a win over the Toronto Argonauts.

“He’s a vet in this league. He’s a good player, a good quarterback who is going to lead us,” said slotback Nic Demski of Streveler. “He’s passionate about what he does. He’s always in control in the huddle. You get a guy who can run, you get a guy with some grit — I’m not saying that Zach can’t, we’ve seen his legs this year — but we still get a good player and a good quarterback.”

The Blue Bombers sit in third place in the CFL’s West Division with their .500 record, trailing first place Saskatchewan, 10-2, and the Calgary Stampeders, 8-4, and just ahead of the B.C. Lions and Edmonton Elks, both at 5-7. Winnipeg has won the season series with the Lions and is up 1-0 on the Elks, with one more meeting coming in Edmonton on October 11th.

KENNY TESTIMONIALS: Lots of talk this week in Bomberland about the club’s first meeting with long-time receiver and popular teammate Kenny Lawler, now with the Ticats. Lawler is second in the CFL with 1,057 yards on 59 catches, with 10 receiving TDs in 12 games. FYI, Drew Wolitarsky, another former Blue Bombers receiver, has spent much of the year on the injured list in Hamilton and has suited up for just two games.

“Stud. A guy that I still keep in touch with and a guy that will be in my life forever,” said Brady Oliveira of Lawler. “Good dude. Funny guy. We miss him here, not just the football player he is — obviously everyone here knows he’s very skilled — but just the guy that he is; just a solid dude to have inside the locker room and outside the locker room just a great friend. We miss him.”

“It’ll be fun to go against him; the last time I went against him was 2022 (when Lawler was in Edmonton),” said Demski. “That’s my guy. Every offseason we worked together training the youth in Winnipeg so, Kenny and I are close. He’s like a brother so it will be fun to go against him and competing.”

“Well, I mean, I hope he doesn’t line up at three-tech (defensive tackle) because he’s a fast dude,” joked guard Pat Neufeld. “Kenny is a guy we all know and love and it’s going to be great to reconnect with him and a lot of ex Bombers out there. He’s been having a great year. I trust our defence, trust our ability, but ultimately what I’m most concerned about is Casey Sayles, (Mario) Kendricks, Miles Fox… those guys rolling through the middle.”

ALL ABOARD TEAM TED: Friday’s game in Hamilton has been dubbed the ‘Team Ted Game’ to honour Tiger-Cats GM Ted Goveia, a long-time fixture in Canadian football and a key part of the Blue Bombers success for over 10 years before his hiring in Steeltown.

Goveia was diagnosed with a serious form of cancer in the spring, and several teams have worn ‘Team Ted’ T-shirts in support.

The Ticats have ‘Team Ted’ t-shirts available on their site at ticats.ca/TeamTed, and fans will be waving a Team Ted rally towel during the in-stadium tribute on Friday. All proceeds from the sale of Team Ted t-shirts will support the Ted Goveia scholarships. An excellent piece from my colleague at ticats.ca, Steve Milton, is here:

Team Ted is much much more than a slogan

Goveia’s role with the Blue Bombers was critical in helping the team rebuild and appear in five consecutive Grey Cups, ultimately capturing two titles.

“He was a pillar in the organization and helped us get where we wanted to get to as an organization,” said head coach Mike O’Shea after Wednesday’s closed practice. “He and Danny (McManus) were the first hires for the scouting department, and they’ve done a great job — Ted’s fingerprints are still all over our roster.

“Ted was always excellent and making sure we understood what guys could do. And the intangibles that were important to our club, he fully understood and wanted to gather people like that. I turn on the tape, turn on the cutups to watch U-Sports players and invariably you would see Ted walking up and down the sideline and that always made me feel good. When he gave us information there was always going to be a nugget that somebody else didn’t have because he was going to be right there within earshot when a guy made a play or didn’t make a play; he was going to hear the conversation the kid had with the coach or with his teammates when somebody else made a good play or somebody else made a bad play — at some point that was going to come up in conversation: “I was on the sideline and…” And I could put on the tape and there’s Ted.

“That’s continued. He’s a great scout. He’s done a great job building Hamilton. He’ll always be a great scout.

“You wish you never have to have a game like this. But it’s a great tribute,” O’Shea added. “Ted means a lot to Canadian football. He’s served on boards, he’s been grassroots, he’s donated time and money and effort to things we don’t even know to make sure Canadian kids have opportunities. He’s always been wired that way. It didn’t matter at what level, he always found guys that had been released and maybe been out and he was going to go work them out or watch them or watch the new guys train. ‘I’ll just go down to the bubble. I think they’re throwing today’ just to see how guys are doing.

“He takes his job so seriously and understands that giving kids opportunities and opening doors for kids that might have been closed is pretty powerful.”