The Winnipeg Blue Bombers and head coach Mike O’Shea aren’t tipping their hands on how close Zach Collaros may be to seeing game action in this week’s matchup against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Collaros left Saturday’s game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the third quarter after being sacked by C.J. Reavis on a play that was ruled roughing the passer.
“It’s one of those things, you check with him every afternoon, you check with him again in the morning and see how they make it through the night,” O’Shea told reporters in Winnipeg.
With Collaros’ history of head injuries, there is significant interest in how he responds to the latest hit and what the timeline for his potential return may be.
“As humans, we should always be concerned whether people are OK,” O’Shea said when asked about the added concern around Collaros’ well-being. “But I’m always tight-lipped because I personally don’t think it’s anyone’s business about Zach’s state right now. I think he’ll be good.”
“We’ll see,” O’Shea later added when asked about a potential return. “We’ll see as the day goes on.”
Collaros, the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player in 2021 and 2022, already missed a game earlier this season with a neck injury and hasn’t quite been at peak form this season. Through 10 games, the 37-year-old has thrown for 2,297 yards, 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions for the 6-6 Blue Bombers.
If he were to miss any time, Winnipeg backup Chris Streveler would take the reins of the Blue Bombers’ offence. In Week 9’s win over Toronto without Collaros, Streveler completed 17 of 21 passes for 173 yards while tossing three interceptions. He also added 25 yards and a score on the ground.