Courtesy: Eric Bolte/CFL.

Zach Collaros is happy to be back for his fourteenth season in the Canadian Football League and seventh with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, but admitted it could be his last.

“There’s a chance (this will be my final season) but not in a negative way. I still feel really good, I still really enjoy the entire process. I enjoy working out, I like getting up early and doing it,” Collaros told the media in Winnipeg on Tuesday.

“This offseason has been great working with (new offensive coordinator) Tommy (Condell) and putting stuff together for training camp and for the season. I’ve kinda been reinvigorated in that way, just having my hand in it a little bit more than I have in the last five years, so it’s been a lot of fun. I’m really excited for the year.”

The six-foot-one, 218-pound passer will turn 38 in August and is heading into the last year of his contract. Collaros doesn’t seem bothered by the lack of long-term security, though it seems noteworthy that he hasn’t entered a season on an expiring deal since 2022.

“I think you’re always kind of playing on a one-year thing anyways (in the CFL), so it’s not going to change the way that I approach the season. It’s not changing the way that I’m training, it’s not going to change the way I play. Would I like to keep going? If I feel healthy and I think I can help the club, then yeah,” said Collaros.

“I think if an organization thinks that you can’t do it, that’s usually the end of the road. But I try not to think negatively — I do always, kinda, I am a worst-case scenario thinker at times — but no, I feel good (about my contract situation).”

The three-time Grey Cup champion has seen his production drop dramatically over the last two seasons, throwing 34 touchdown passes and 33 interceptions over 31 regular-season games. He threw 90 touchdown passes and 34 interceptions over the previous three seasons, earning back-to-back Most Outstanding Player awards in 2021 and 2022.

Collaros said the club still needs to figure out what type of offence it’s going to have in 2026 and be versatile enough to change that on a week-to-week basis. With that said, he recognizes his production has to improve, especially when it comes to turnovers.

“You always have high expectations of yourself,” said Collaros. “You want your production and you want your numbers to look a certain way. You don’t want to be a one-to-one ratio touchdown-to-interception, and you never want to turn the football over, number one. That’s something that I certainly have to clean up and we have to clean up as an offence, but it starts with me.”

“Is there gonna be more on my plate? Is there gonna be more on our plate as a unit to get into better plays versus certain looks? That’s the kind of thing that I’m really trying to focus on in the offseason is just recognition of the defence, getting us in the right plays, and then being able to execute against those things.”

“The numbers are what they are. They haven’t been up to the standard that any quarterback wants to play, and you want those to look better. At the same time, each week, you kind of just do what you need to do to win each football game, and that looks different from time to time. But certainly, you’d rather be throwing 35 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and that’s always the goal.”

A reunion with Condell, who coached Collaros for two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, should help the veteran quarterback get back to the top of his game. He’s also excited about Winnipeg’s free agent additions, which included receivers Tim White and Tommy Nield and offensive lineman Jarell Broxton.

With that said, it remains to be seen if Collaros has a bounce-back year in 2026 — and what that could mean for 2027.