Patrick Neufeld and his fellow Winnipeg Blue Bombers offensive lineman were huddled up inside their meeting room trying to figure out where it all went wrong in 2025.
It was locker room cleanout day — less than 24 hours after the Bombers were eliminated in the East semifinal in Montreal — and, unlike most of their teammates, no one on the O-line stepped out to speak with media.
“I just wanted to be in the room with the guys. As you guys know, it’s a business of change so you never know who’s not gonna be back in that offensive line room,” said Neufeld, who signed a one-year extension on Sunday, in a Zoom call on Monday.
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Winnipeg Blue Bombers offensive lineman Patrick Neufeld (53) signed a one-year extension with the club on Sunday. The 2026 season will be Neufeld’s 12th in Blue and Gold and his 15th CFL season overall.
“We were sitting in the offensive line room reminiscing about the season and, not an airing of grievances, but just talking about the season. The good, the bad, the ugly, the fun, all that kind of stuff.
“The intent wasn’t to be disrespectful and not allow dialogue with us. I think it was just how the season went, the frustration, and just how it ended it was tough to handle.”
The campaign ended on an extra bitter note for Neufeld as a kidney injury prevented him from playing the second half in Montreal. Neufeld was hit in the lower back by an Alouettes defender while diving for a loose ball in the opening quarter and, at the intermission, it was obvious something was wrong.
“Halftime I was just urinating the wrong colour, let’s say, and immediately got our trainer Al (Couture) to assess everything and next thing you know that was the end of my day,” said Neufeld.
When the final whistle blew, the 37-year-old had zero doubts about returning for a 12th season with the Bombers and 15th overall in the CFL. The Regina product — who spent his first three seasons with his hometown Saskatchewan Roughriders and now resides in Winnipeg year-round — never imagined he’d carve out a career this long.
“It’s funny, I think about this now going into year 15 — 16 with COVID — and my rookie year I was roommates with a player named Gene Makowsky who has the most games played as a Saskatchewan Roughrider. He played like 250-60 games for that organization,” said Neufeld.
“I just remember sitting there next to him and being his roommate on the road and being like, ‘How is this guy still playing? He’s got a family. He’s got kids.’ And I was just a 22-year-old kid with no idea what he was getting himself into. I just told myself if I could last one year and being able to say I played professional football that would be pretty cool. Now I’m going into year 15 or 16 and being on the flip side of that and seeing guys born in 2003 playing on the roster and blowing my mind there.”
Considering the Bombers said goodbye to their streak of five consecutive Grey Cup appearances, Neufeld figured there would be changes this off-season. One he didn’t see coming, however, was starting centre Chris Kolankowski being released. Veteran Canadian Tui Eli, who’s entering his sixth season, is expected to take over.
Kolankowski signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last week.
“Definitely surprised by it. I thought Chris has been a great player for us. He’s also one of my closest friends. His daughter and my daughter are best friends so that’s really tough,” said Neufeld.
“I trust the organization, I trust Tui (Eli). He’s been around with our group for a long time, and he’s played great football for us, so, looking forward to him taking that next step and taking control of that centre job and going into camp and competing there.”
With Neufeld inked, now only one major question remains on the O-line: will left tackle Stanley Bryant be back?
Bryant, who turns 40 in May, and defensive end Willie Jefferson are Winnipeg’s two biggest pending free agents. Free agency opens for business on Feb. 10.
“I think he’s the greatest offensive linemen ever and he’s definitely craving to play. I talk with him all the time so I hope he’s back,” said Neufeld. “I don’t know the status of his contract or anything. All I can say is I hope he’s back with us for sure.”
BIG GUNS ON SPECIAL TEAMS BACK FOR ’26
It was a pretty good Monday for the Bombers’ special teams unit.
JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES
Winnipeg Blue Bombers returner Trey Vaval inked a contract extension with the club Monday along with kicker Sergio Castillo and punter Jamieson Sheahan.
Early in the day it was announced that both kicker Sergio Castillo and punter Jamieson Sheahan had re-signed with the club.
Castillo, a 35-year-old from La Joya, Texas, inked a two-year extension. Sheahan, a 28-year-old Australian, signed a one-year deal.
Castillo connected on 85.7 per cent of his field goal attempts (48-of-56) and 93 per cent of his converts (40-of-43) last season.
Sheahan finished 2025 with a punting average of 47.8 yards on 94 punts and a net of 38.4 yards. His 47.8-yard average was the second-highest in Blue Bombers history to Jon Ryan’s 50.6 average in 2005.
Hours later, it was revealed reigning CFL Most Outstanding Rookie and Most Outstanding Special Teams Player Trey Vaval will also be back.
The 25-year-old returner from Blue Springs, Mo., worked out for six NFL teams but did not sign a contract down south. He had until Feb. 10 to sign an NFL contract.
“I’m glad that’s over. I just didn’t want to keep waiting,” said Vaval in an interview posted on the team’s website with Bombers’ senior reporter Ed Tait.
“I’m in a better headspace to play now because my teammates want me there, my coaches want me there. That makes me happy and I can free play, I can play loose, instead of stressing out.”
Vaval is under contract with the Bombers through 2027.
NEW VIDEO BOARD
It was also announced Monday that Princess Auto Stadium is installing a brand-new, state-of-the-art video board for the upcoming season.
The new display will feature over a million more pixels than the current system which will lead to clearer replays and more vibrant on-screen graphics.
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Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.
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