The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are taking a new approach from the 2024 off-season, and are making some key signings early. They already locked up their head coach, Mike O’Shea, and their general manager, Kyle Walters to 3 year deals. Then, they put pen to paper and inked Oliveira to a one year deal.

More Key Signings
Redha Kramdi
Adding to the list of signings, the Bombers agreed to terms with Redha Kramdi, signing a two-year contract extension. “That, in short, is Kramdi’s approach to football and part of his big-picture perspective on life. Put your head down, do the work and don’t make it bigger than it is. The son of Algerian immigrants, he knows all about sweat equity and the value in simply rolling up your sleeves and swinging the hammer.

It’s also why he is humbly proud of where he is now in his career, having transformed from a guy drafted as a special teams prospect into a defender playing a dime position — arguably the most difficult in any Canadian Football League defence.” (source)

Deatrick Nichols
The Bombers also announced that they had signed Nichols one-year contract extension. An important leader and steady presence in a defence that surrendered the fewest points in 2025, Nichols finished the year with 37 defensive tackles and 13 pass knockdowns – second in the Canadian Football League to Willie Jefferson’s league-leading 16. 

A two-time CFL All-Star (2021, 2022), Nichols started all 18 regular-season games and the Eastern Semi-Final and has only missed two contests in the last five years. He was also a member of the 2021 Grey Cup championship side. He has now suited up for 82 regular-season games, every one of them as a Blue Bomber.” (source)

Cam Lawson
Earlier in the week, the Bombers also signed Cam Lawson to a two-year contract extension. “He suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2024 and then bounced back this past season to dress for 16 games, making six starts and registering 21 defensive tackles, one sack and one forced fumble.

Originally selected by the Montreal Alouettes in the second round, 16th overall, in the 2020 CFL Draft, he appeared in four games with the Als in 2021 before being traded to Winnipeg on draft day in May of 2022 in a deal that saw the Blue Bombers send the 9th and 18th overall selections to Montreal for Lawson and the 13th overall selection.” (source)

Ontaria ‘Pokey’ Wilson
This signing clearly indicates a change of philospohy for the Bombers, as Wilson signed a 2 year deal with a pay increase, “And that’s a big part of why he put his name on a new two-year contract extension with the club this week that will keep him in Winnipeg for the next few seasons. Wilson and the club agreed to renegotiate his rookie contract after he posted a 1,000-yard campaign and was named the club’s Most Outstanding Rookie in 2024 and then pulled in 21 passes for 382 yards and three TDs in six games after returning to the club from the Jets.

“With the year I had as a rookie and then a couple games when I came back last year, I felt like I was maybe worth a little bit more than the rookie contract I was on,” said Wilson in a chat with bluebombers.com from his offseason base in Ashburn, GA, today. “Winnipeg felt the same way about it, too.” (source)

You will remember last year that Bombers’ general manager, Kyle Walters was holding the purse strings tight. The Bombers lost numerous receivers before the 2025 season, and Mitchell who they brought in just never panned out. And while Wilson certainly was not asking the same price as Lawler was, this along with the Oliveira signing clearly indicates a change of philosophy. Which is a good thing if you remember this catch!

Still Lacking
Offensive Line
The Bombers still need to figure out what they are going to do with their offensive line! Some say that Collaros did not look like himself this year. And while that is a fair criticism, the offensive line did not look like themselves this year either. We can certainly criticize Collaros on some of his decisions, but remember, he said after the season that the team practiced things in training camp that they never used in the regular season. So I will give Collaros his fair share of the criticism, but not without also criticizing the offensive line and the play calling.

Receivers
I think it was abundantly clear that the Bombers lacked in this position, even if Schoen would have stayed healthy. The Bombers gambled and lost after the 2024 season on their receiving group. Without a couple to top tier receivers, they thought they could fill the void by committee. They also thought Mitchell would be good, but he took a long time to crack the roaster, and did not perform anywhere near expectations. I am still waiting to see if the Bombers make a splash at this position.

Quarterback
In all likelihood, Streveler is out and done. On October 27th I asked, “What if anything positive can come from the Streveler injury?” I began that article by saying, “First of all, this sucks! Chris Streveler is a great person and an amazing teammate! Anyone that does not feel for Streveler should check for a pulse because they may be lacking a heart.”

The Bombers and Streveler have unfortunately been here before in 2024: Streveler Out – Bombers Bring In Replacements. And the reality is the same now as it was then, “The reality of the situation is there there is no way that you really replace a guy like Chris Streveler. However, the Bombers are forced to bring in somebody that will take a quarterback place on the roster.”

In 2024 the Bombers brought in Bryan Scott, and Jake Dolegala. Back in 2024 Wilson was also on the roster. And after the 2024 Banjo Bowl I said, “In the Banjo Bowl, Wilson did not throw the ball once. He rushed 3 times for 6 yards. If the Bombers find that either Dolegala or Scott are better passers than Wilson, Wilson may find himself with an apple and a roadmap.”

Yet, here we were in 2025, and the Bombers still had Wilson, who still had not thrown the ball well. And let us remember that the Bombers also had other quarterbacks in 2025 that they released including Patterson, and Dolegala. Back in 2024, and coming into 2025 the Bombers believed that Streveler was their best number two quarterback. Even after he played some bad games this year, and even after the Bombers came up with a game plan that Streveler intentionally did not throw the ball much at all…the Bombers kept Streveler as their number two quarterback!

In September of this year I wrote these three articles: Bombers’ Quarterback Woes Grow As Streveler Is Taking 1st Team Reps Even After His Last Game; and Reflections – If The Bombers Were Not Sure They Should Be Now That Streveler Will Not Get The Job Done. Reflections – Bombers Pull Off Unsustainable Win & Streveler Still Should Not Start The Next Game. Even earlier in May of this year I wrote: Bombers Release Patterson – And They Are Still In Need.

I want to be absolutely clear, those article were not about criticizing the Bombers and Streveler now that he is injured…I have been bringing forward this criticism all year. Yet, despite the play of Streveler this year, the Bombers were committed to playing him over Wilson. That turned out to be a fatal flaw as Wilson did not get valuable reps earlier in the season – because Streveler started. Couple that with the fact that now the Bombers have not even seen Chase Artopoeus in live game action as the Bombers headed into the East Semi-Final. With a lot of question marks again at the number two and three quarterback position, the Bombers need to solve that before the season starts.

So back to the original question, What if anything positive can come from the Streveler injury? For my money it is this; the Bombers will have to start the process of finding or developing a legitimate number two quarterback. Is it Wilson, Artopoeus, how about Trey Ford next year from Edmonton? While I do not have the answer, this is a puzzle that the Bombers must solve.

Final Thoughts
While it sure seems obvious that the Bombers are changing their approach and philosophy leading up to the 2026 season, will it be enough to get the Bombers back on top of the pile, and will it be enough for them to be true Grey Cup contenders?

I think that depends. If the Bombers do not find and sign a legitimate number two quarterback, forget about it; 2026 will not end well for them. If the Bombers are not able to reinforce their offensive line, then expect to see a Michael Reilly type situation in Winnipeg – where BC had a good quarterback but no protection.

And what about their defence? You can find all the CFL statistics here, but honestly the Bombers’ defence was not terrible. Yet a question that CJOB’s (and former Blue Bomber) Doug Brown brings up it this; would you like to be a defender for the Bombers, when the constantly rush 3 and keep getting smacked in the mouth? That is a very fair question from someone very qualified to ask it. That may leave the Bombers in a challenging position finding guys who want to play on the defensive line, knowing that their stats line will be low, and that they will get double teamed often.

So while the Bombers have made some good strides, and changes in philosophy moving towards the 2026 season; the jury is still out for me on whether it will be enough.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments section wherever you are reading this. Catch all my articles here.