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![\"JOHN](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/3705304_web1_251102_bombers_27.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS
\nWinnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros talks to media as the team cleans out their lockers in the dressing room at Princess Auto Stadium stadium on Sunday.<\/p>\n
This year, the Bombers lasted just one playoff game, eliminated from the postseason following a 42-33 road loss to the Montreal Alouettes.<\/p>\n
They couldn\u2019t win the West Division like in previous years \u2014 a feat that would have given them a bye to the West final and had them just one home victory away from the Grey Cup. Instead, they settled for fourth place in the division, relegating them to the East as a crossover team.<\/p>\n
Now, as players clean out their lockers, it\u2019s not just for the winter break. In a cruel twist of fate, the space they vacate will soon be filled by a rival. That\u2019s because the Bombers locker room will host the West representative \u2014 the winner between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and B.C. Lions \u2014 in the 112th Grey Cup being held at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg on Nov. 16.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely unsettling. It doesn\u2019t feel great,\u201d Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros said. \u201cOn the ride over, I picked up Jake (Thomas) and that was one of the things we talked about briefly. Obviously, losing and not coming to work today is difficult. Just the thought of having another team in your locker room is tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not going to a sixth straight Grey Cup has been a disappointing reality for players, especially with the game being played in Winnipeg. It\u2019s particularly rough for those who have been around for all or most of these \u201cdynasty\u201d years, and even longer, as is the case for Thomas.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Thomas, a veteran Canadian defensive lineman and the longest-tenured Bomber at 15 seasons, is one of the aging players who will have to make an important decision in the coming weeks on his football future.<\/p>\n Will he be willing to put in the work it takes to play another year? Will the team want him if he does?<\/p>\n These are questions that Thomas is going to have to ask himself and seek advice about from his family, which includes a child starting school in the fall back home on the east coast. What Thomas doesn\u2019t question, however, is the future health of the Bombers organization.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think the window is closed by any means, if that\u2019s where you\u2019re going with that,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cI guess the streak of going to Grey Cups is over, but I don\u2019t think anyone was satisfied with the way the last three Grey Cups ended anyways.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cWe\u2019re not satisfied with just making the playoffs. The expectation is to go all the way.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Given the timing of this year\u2019s playoff defeat and challenging regular season, it raises the question: Is this the end of an era in Winnipeg?<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d Collaros said. \u201cI don\u2019t know how to kind of categorize it. But I think we still have the pieces in place. I\u2019d like to continue to do this. I love this support. I love this league. I love this organization, first and foremost, and I love my teammates. I want to continue to do it, but I want to play good football. And I want guys who have been here \u2014 Jake Thomas, Paddy Neufeld, Stanley Bryant, Shayne Gauthier. Those guys who have been here for the ride, I\u2019d like for them to be here to do it, because I think we can continue to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Like Thomas, who turns 35 next month, there are several aging veteran players in need of a contract for next season. The Bombers have done a good job of bringing in younger talent the last two years, saying goodbye to a handful of core leaders, such as Adam Bighill, Jackson Jeffcoat and Brandon Alexander.<\/p>\n But many still remain, including four of the five starters on the offensive line. Neufeld will be 37 in December and Bryant 40 by the time next year\u2019s training camp starts.<\/p>\n Just consider some of the other notable pending free agents: running back Brady Oliveira; receivers Nic Demski, Dalton Schoen, Jerreth Sterns and Keric Wheatfall; defensive ends Willie Jefferson and James Vaughters; linebackers Gauthier and Kyrie Wilson; and defensive backs Evan Holm, Redha Kramdi and Deatrick Nichols.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \u201cI have absolutely no idea what the change is going to be like,\u201d Jefferson said. \u201cBut I believe in this organization, this coaching staff. I believe in Coach (Mike) O\u2019Shea and (general manager) Kyle (Walters) and (president and CEO) Wade (Miller). Those guys have been doing a great job the last eight to 10 years building this team, making this team what it is, and the guys in the locker room do nothing but make it better. Whatever happens in the future, I believe that will be the right choice.\u201d<\/p>\n Winnipeg finished the 2025 regular season 10-8, marking a ninth straight year with double-digit wins. They opened strong and then faltered midway through the season, only to regroup and clinch a playoff spot in Week 20.<\/p>\n But unlike the last few seasons, this year looked and felt different because of a lack of consistency in all areas, a sentiment echoed by several on the team.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely a lot of ups and downs. A lot of adversity,\u201d Demski said. \u201cBut at the end of the day, that\u2019s what builds character. This was a good team; a good team that came together and just fell short.\u201d<\/p>\n Winnipeg was once again last in generating quarterback sacks, but under co-ordinator Jordan Younger and his penchant for rushing three defenders rather than four, the Bombers\u2019 defence allowed the fewest offensive points against. In more games than not, the defence gave Winnipeg a chance to win games.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The same couldn\u2019t be said for the offence. Led by rookie offensive co-ordinator Jason Hogan, Winnipeg\u2019s attack was below average in almost every statistical category outside of the Oliveira-led run game.<\/p>\n The passing game was among the worst in the CFL, averaging a league-low 235 yards per game. The Bombers suffered two-and-outs on 37 per cent of their total drives and threw the most interceptions, with 27.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t \u201cI think that\u2019s more of a discussion for when the dust settles and we find out what\u2019s going to happen moving forward, all those things,\u201d Collaros said, when asked how to fix the passing game. \u201cIt\u2019s trying to figure out what you\u2019re good at and kind of honing in on that and getting grown in that. We need to get better in the passing game, for sure. That\u2019s not just this season. I think over the last couple seasons \u2014 not just this year but the year before, too \u2014 it\u2019s gotten tougher, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s still plenty of dust to settle, with both Walters and O\u2019Shea also up for contract extensions. In previous years, these negotiations often followed Grey Cup appearances and victories.<\/p>\n How this year might affect what happens to management and the coaching staff remains to be seen. O\u2019Shea and Walters will be talking this week and should be able to provide more clarity.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Demski said with a nervous chuckle when asked how different next year could be. \u201cI don\u2019t know if it is from a management plan, I don\u2019t know if it is from a coaching plan, I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a player part, but I do expect change. It\u2019s probably pretty clich\u00e9 to say, especially in this sport that we play and the business that we\u2019re in. I\u2019ll have more answers to that after I talk to O\u2019Shea. But I love it here. I don\u2019t want my situation to change. I\u2019ll stick with that answer and we\u2019ll go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Jeff Hamilton Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University\u2019s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS
\nWinnipeg Blue Bombers\u2019 Jake Thomas talks to media as the team cleans out their lockers.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS
\nWinnipeg Blue Bombers\u2019 Willie Jefferson speaks with media.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS
\nWinnipeg Blue Bombers sign helmets as they get ready for the off-season.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS
\nWinnipeg Blue Bombers\u2019 Nic Demski shares his thoughts on the 2025 season with media.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS
\nWinnipeg Blue Bombers\u2019 Redha Kramdi (6) and others continue clearing out their gear from the locker room.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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