Published Oct 07, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n When receiver Dillon Mitchell signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as a free agent last winter, he described himself as an entertainer.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive columns by Ryan Stelter, Paul Friesen, Ted Wyman, Scott Billeck, Lorrie Goldstein, Warren Kinsella and others. 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Plus newsletters: Gimme Stelter for your beat on the city, The Exit Row for all your Jets news and On the Rocks for curling.Unlimited online access to Winnipeg Sun and 15 news sites with one account.Winnipeg Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Account<\/p>\n or<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Through four months of the season, the 28-year-old was about as entertaining as a bad itch.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n At that point, he looked like the most ill-advised $150,000 the Bombers have spent in a while.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n He finished with a season-high 67 yards on three catches.<\/p>\n Now that was an itch that needed scratching.<\/p>\n \u201cIt definitely felt amazing,\u201d Mitchell was saying after practice on Tuesday. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The Winnipeg Sun’s Daily Headline News<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n 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 \u2013 the reasons outnumber the significant plays he\u2019s made.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody was happy for him,\u201d head coach Mike O\u2019Shea said. \u201cIt\u2019s got to feel good to have your work pay off for you.\u201d<\/p>\n Even if it seemed to take forever.<\/p>\n The timing of Mitchell\u2019s breakout game is significant, though,<\/p>\n For starters, it\u2019s that time of year when urgency ramps up, with the playoffs right around the corner.<\/p>\n As good as their run game is, the Bombers can\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cI see myself being a huge part of the Grey Cup run,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n At this point, Mitchell brought up this team\u2019s unofficial mantra: FIFO, short for Fit In Or F-Off.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s patience, but the patience of the man.<\/p>\n Mitchell acknowledges that particular virtue is not something he was born with. He had to learn it from his mother.<\/p>\n \u201cI was a very emotional kid,\u201d he said. \u201cA 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 \u2026 you might make a better one.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n As the weeks went by and he wasn\u2019t playing, Mitchell put that patience to good use.<\/p>\n Encouraged by teammates, most notably Collaros, who told him the team was going to need him in the long run, he kept working.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s helped me being able to come out of my shell as a leader,\u201d Mitchell said of his quarterback. \u201cHe was a big part of why I stayed focused.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mom always sends me the videos \u2026 and it gives you a different perspective,\u201d he said. \u2018Cause we\u2019re out there playing, so you can\u2019t watch yourself on TV unless you get that version. So yeah, I\u2019ve watched it a couple times.\u201d<\/p>\n What he saw was a slick corner route and a nice grab with a defender right on him \u2013 the kind of play he often made for Edmonton over his first three years in the CFL.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Last year\u2019s 58-catch, 727-yard campaign was Mitchell\u2019s best. The natural progression was his first 1,000-yard season.<\/p>\n That progression hit a Winnipeg pothole.<\/p>\n The damage appears to be repaired just in time for a return to Edmonton on Saturday.<\/p>\n Mitchell says he may feel a little nostalgia going back, but he\u2019s not carrying a massive chip on his shoulder.<\/p>\n \u201cAny player, for sure, is always wanting to prove to a team that they played for they\u2019re still a good player,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think I had any hard feelings from the way it ended. Going in, I obviously do want to have a good game. It\u2019s 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\u2019ll come.\u201d<\/p>\n Mitchell hopes his last game is a sign of things to come.<\/p>\n He also knows the best way to entertain Winnipeg fans is one day at a time.<\/p>\n \u201cStacking those days until we can get to the Grey Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca<\/p>\n X: @friesensunmedia<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links SportsFootballCFLWinnipeg Blue Bombers Get the latest from Paul Friesen straight to your inbox Sign Up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196734,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-196733","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Dillon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1008mitchell-scaled-e1759882377710.jpg\")
Dillon Mitchell of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers catches a touchdown pass as Hamilton Tiger-Cats\u2019 DaShaun Amos defends during first half CFL action in Winnipeg on Sept. 27, 2025. Photo by John Woods \/The Canadian PressArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Winnipeg](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/19.7.1\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-wsun-new.svg\"){kind=logo}
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