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Published Oct 07, 2025 • 4 minute read
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Dillon Mitchell of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers catches a touchdown pass as Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ DaShaun Amos defends during first half CFL action in Winnipeg on Sept. 27, 2025. Photo by John Woods /The Canadian PressArticle content
When receiver Dillon Mitchell signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as a free agent last winter, he described himself as an entertainer.
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Through four months of the season, the 28-year-old was about as entertaining as a bad itch.
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A healthy scratch for the first seven games, Mitchell finally got into the lineup, played the next seven and caught 15 passes for a ho-hum 126 yards.
At that point, he looked like the most ill-advised $150,000 the Bombers have spent in a while.
Some six minutes into their last game, the product of Memphis, Tenn., finally produced a measurable return on that investment, snagging a 44-yard touchdown strike from Zach Collaros to kick off a 40-3 rout over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
He finished with a season-high 67 yards on three catches.
Now that was an itch that needed scratching.
“It definitely felt amazing,” Mitchell was saying after practice on Tuesday. “I could feel all the energy, especially from the fans. It was my first time scoring in Princess Auto Stadium. It was amazing. A great feeling, especially with my teammates and brothers being there.”
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Much ink has been spilled on Mitchell and his struggles to get into the lineup. Growing pains in a new system, putting too much pressure on himself, not being suited for an inside receiver spot – the reasons outnumber the significant plays he’s made.
“Everybody was happy for him,” head coach Mike O’Shea said. “It’s got to feel good to have your work pay off for you.”
Even if it seemed to take forever.
The timing of Mitchell’s breakout game is significant, though,
For starters, it’s that time of year when urgency ramps up, with the playoffs right around the corner.
As good as their run game is, the Bombers can’t be a one-trick offensive pony going into the post-season. A receiving corps led by Nic Demski was starving for someone else to step up.
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“I see myself being a huge part of the Grey Cup run,” Mitchell said. “It’s all going to work itself out to where we can continue to get wins and get past teams that we have not been able to.”
At this point, Mitchell brought up this team’s unofficial mantra: FIFO, short for Fit In Or F-Off.
It took far longer than anyone expected, but the fact he managed to accomplish the first part and not the alternative says a lot about not only the team’s patience, but the patience of the man.
Mitchell acknowledges that particular virtue is not something he was born with. He had to learn it from his mother.
“I was a very emotional kid,” he said. “A lot of times she could have handled things a lot worse than she did, and she did not. So I realized that sometimes if you just take a second to think about things, you might not make the wrong decision … you might make a better one.”
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As the weeks went by and he wasn’t playing, Mitchell put that patience to good use.
Encouraged by teammates, most notably Collaros, who told him the team was going to need him in the long run, he kept working.
“He’s helped me being able to come out of my shell as a leader,” Mitchell said of his quarterback. “He was a big part of why I stayed focused.”
After the last game, he heard from the person who was a big part of his staying patient, his mom sending him the video of his first touchdown as a Bomber.
“My mom always sends me the videos … and it gives you a different perspective,” he said. ‘Cause we’re out there playing, so you can’t watch yourself on TV unless you get that version. So yeah, I’ve watched it a couple times.”
What he saw was a slick corner route and a nice grab with a defender right on him – the kind of play he often made for Edmonton over his first three years in the CFL.
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Last year’s 58-catch, 727-yard campaign was Mitchell’s best. The natural progression was his first 1,000-yard season.
That progression hit a Winnipeg pothole.
The damage appears to be repaired just in time for a return to Edmonton on Saturday.
Mitchell says he may feel a little nostalgia going back, but he’s not carrying a massive chip on his shoulder.
“Any player, for sure, is always wanting to prove to a team that they played for they’re still a good player,” he said. “I don’t think I had any hard feelings from the way it ended. Going in, I obviously do want to have a good game. It’s not towards anybody. Just more that I want to do well for the Bombers and for some of the people who supported me in Edmonton that’ll come.”
Mitchell hopes his last game is a sign of things to come.
He also knows the best way to entertain Winnipeg fans is one day at a time.
“Stacking those days until we can get to the Grey Cup.”
paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca
X: @friesensunmedia
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