The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have some work to do to stop the bleeding on a three-game losing skid. And their next session of heavy lifting — this Friday at home against the Toronto Argonauts — will now come with starting quarterback Zach Collaros playing the spectator.
Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea confirmed at his media briefing on Wednesday that he does not expect the veteran pivot to play this week. The assumption is veteran Chris Streveler will then make his second start of the season — although that won’t be officially confirmed until the depth chart is released Thursday morning.
“We like what (Streveler) can do,” O’Shea said. “We like his leadership. He steps in there and he’s a pro and he wants to do very well for his teammates. That part of it is so important to him.
“(That’s) beside the fact that he’s fun to watch and he can make big plays.”
O’Shea did add that he did not expect Collaros, who has not finished the last two games due to a neck injury, to not be out for long. But couple his absence with the recent losses of left tackle Stanley Bryant and receiver Dalton Schoen from the attack and that’s a quarter of the offensive starters missing.
Injury Report: July 30, 2025#ForTheW | @DoctorsManitoba pic.twitter.com/2wy6pDYyKo
— Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) July 30, 2025
“On paper it looks rough,” said running back Brady Oliveira on Wednesday following a closed walk-through session. “Obviously, having your quarterback go down, having Dalton out, those are both key guys in this league, guys that make a massive impact for our team and help us win games.
“So, when you have those guys go out it’s hard to fill those roles but unfortunately in this business — it’s cliché and you hear it all the time — it’s next man up. There’s not been any concern yet in this locker room and there’s still so much belief.”
The Blue Bombers have lost their last three games by a combined margin of 56 points, the most extreme three-game skid since 2014. Still, while a number of key faces did exit over the winter in free agency, a core remains from last year’s crew that started the year 0-4 was 2-6 before winning 10 of its final 11 games to make a fifth straight Grey Cup appearance.
“Right now is not the time to panic and not the time to start freaking out or worrying about the three losses in a row,” Oliveira said. “There’s still so much time left. We’re going to start clicking and it’s just a matter of time and once we start clicking who says we can’t go on a nice little run, a nice little heater — we did it last year. Again, it’s different this year to last year but we’ve done it before so why can’t it be done again this year?
“I still have total confidence in this group. Where we’re at… we’re still continuing to improve every single day and continuing to focus on the details and fine-tooth some things. There’s lots of mistakes in the film when watching it that maybe you might not notice them as a viewer but when we’re breaking down the tape there’s these little details that we’ve got to clean up. If we do that and really focus on those, I think we’ll be fine.”
Streveler has completed 63.5 percent of his passes this year (47 of 74) for 558 yards with five touchdowns against three interceptions for a QB rating of 92.1. He started the first game of the season with Collaros serving a suspension and went 15-of-24 for 246 yards with three passing TDs against one pick in a win over the B.C. Lions.
He replaced Collaros at halftime of Saturday’s loss in Toronto and connected with Jerreth Sterns for the Blue Bombers only offensive touchdown while completing 11-of-18 passes for 148 yards.
Asked Monday about the recent play of Collaros — he has two touchdowns against six interceptions in his last three starts — O’Shea opted to pull back for a bigger-picture take.
“I see an entire team that is taking turns making mistakes,” he said. “So, I think the quarterback is, as they would say, given too much credit for losses and wins.
“There’s lots that goes into any football play and the best part about our game is 12 guys have to be doing the right thing all the time.”
Still to be determined for the Blue Bombers are what changes might be made on defence — we’ll know more Thursday morning when the depth chart comes out — and who will step in to replace Kody Case at receiver after he was injured in Toronto.
FYI: Tuesday’s practice session was officially cancelled because of wild-fire smoke and dangerous numbers in the air quality index. Wednesday’s session, closed to the media, was also mostly a walk-through.
“It’s a little different,” said receiver Nic Demski. “I don’t think that’s a common thing in football especially when it’s such a rep-oriented league. But we’ve just got to be professionals about it and one of the biggest things is just getting the visual reps and the mental reps.”
“This is the first time in my career (not practising outside),” added cornerback Terrell Bonds. “It’s a little different. But we’re pros and Coach Osh told us we have to adjust. We’re going to be fresh because we didn’t have any wear and tear on our bodies.
“It’s been more film work, which is good for us to get our communication down because in the last couple of weeks we’ve had some communication errors, for sure, in the secondary. But this week it could be a good thing for us because we were in the film room a lot.”