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Published Aug 12, 2025 • 4 minute read
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Winnipeg Blue Bombers kicker Sergio Castillo (14) and teammate Mike Benson (40) show their disappointment after losing the 111th Grey Cup to the Toronto Argonauts, in Vancouver in 2024 THE CANADIAN PRESS FILEArticle content
Mike Benson knew something was up the moment Mike O’Shea called him aside on Tuesday morning.
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Most players were already in their group meetings, with Benson about to join them, when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach approached him.
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“You can tell,” the veteran long snapper told the Winnipeg Sun later in the day. “I’ve seen enough players let go in my time, that you kind of know. You can feel the energy before words are even said.”
After a dozen CFL seasons, the last four-and-a-half playing in his hometown, Benson was getting the pink slip.
The 38-year-old had worked his way back from a hip/hamstring injury he suffered in the season-opener and was ready to play again the last week or two.
But Ian Leroux, 12 years younger, had taken his job – and done it well.
That wasn’t the only factor at play.
Players with Benson’s experience have their salaries guaranteed at a certain point in the season. It’s one of the few guarantees CFLers have in their collective bargaining agreement.
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With Winnipeg’s ninth game coming on Thursday against Ottawa, it sounds like Bombers management waited until the last possible moment.
“That’s a tough one,” Benson acknowledged. “I think it was at the end of the day (Tuesday). I think the rule is 48 hours before your ninth game. It’s somebody’s job to know those rules. And that’s why it was in my head going into this week. I’m not naive.
“It’s a super bittersweet moment.”
So Benson started his day with a job and a regular paycheque, and ended it without either.
“That part stings,” he said. “Because there is no severance in professional sports.”
There was no real chance to say a proper goodbye, either. Teammates returned from meetings to find an empty locker at one end of the room, next to the other members of the kicking “operation,” as they call it.
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“That was my guy,” one rookie said in disbelief.
Welcome to pro football. Great game, crappy business.
“It’s not as bad when you already see something coming,” Benson said. “But at the end of the day you’re leaving work the last time from some of your best friends. Coaches and peers. So it’s tough. It’s really tough. My reaction probably wouldn’t have been the same 10 years ago.
“There would have been a lot more bitterness, for sure.”
Instead, the product of St. Paul’s High School realizes how lucky he was to get a chance to play as long as he has, including this unforgettable stint with his hometown team.
Benson’s first three squads, Edmonton, B.C. and Ottawa, never reached the Grey Cup.
He came to Winnipeg in 2021 and got there four straight years, winning the first – the same year he had his son, Wilder.
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“It’s been an incredible journey here,” he said. “I’m looking at what Winnipeg gave me and what football gave me, and I’m eternally grateful for the experience. To be able to bring my family to the games, to bring my son on the field. There’s a lot of people that wish they could do that and they’ll never get the chance.
“You play nine years or so never even getting a sniff of the Grey Cup. And then you play the last four years going to them. It’s been a surreal experience.”
Another thing Benson is grateful for: He’s learned more from O’Shea than any other coach.
He could tell how hard it was for his coach to deliver Tuesday’s news.
“He played. He gets it. But I respect him coming to talk to me face-to-face, because not a lot of coaches can do that. And being able to thank him… I’m grateful for that.”
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Coaches often call it the worst part of their job.
“Not easy,” O’Shea said. “Mike’s a pro. Very rarely in this business or any pro sport business do you call the shot… you’re not calling it on your own terms. Everybody wants to play more.
“I’m sure (it was) harder on him.”
Their talk ended with a handshake and a hug.
Benson hopes they meet again – as opponents.
While the bad news was still fresh and he hadn’t even digested it all yet, he knew one thing by the end of the day.
“Call me a cowboy, but I want to go out swinging. I want to go out guns-a-blazing. I want to play. That’s what I love to do, and I can still do it. I worked this hard to get in incredible shape this year, and I’m not going to let it waste.
“If a team needs someone to come and step in, I’m going to do it.”
That’s how it all started in Winnipeg four years ago, a move that produced friendships that’ll last a lifetime.
In true Mike Benson fashion, he was planning to send one last group text to his teammates.
“If you ever need anything,” he’d tell them. “I’ll be around.”
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