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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Blue Bombers general manager Kyle Walters spoke to the media for the first time on Wednesday after signing a three-year contract extension with the club.<\/p>\n
One of the key people tasked with getting the organization back to contender status is general manager Kyle Walters. He spoke to a room of reporters on Wednesday fresh off signing a three-year contract extension.<\/p>\n
The 52-year-old from St. Thomas, Ont., has been the permanent GM of the Bombers since 2014.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were 10-8 this year. So, the idea that the sky is falling and we\u2019re 0-18 and missed the playoffs, that\u2019s not the case \u2014 we\u2019re a double-digit win team with a good core here and a group of decision makers that have been here a while who know how to win,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust trust that we\u2019ll get back to winning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before looking ahead to 2026, the 2025 campaign must be dissected. They knew they were hosting the Grey Cup this season, and yet, the roster felt far from championship calibre.<\/p>\n
\u201cA 10-win season and making the playoffs is OK. But the thing that jumps out for me is we didn\u2019t beat a Trevor Harris-led team. We didn\u2019t beat (Calgary) when Vernon (Adams Jr.) played. Davis Alexander, we didn\u2019t beat,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look at the good quality wins \u2014 early in the year when we beat B.C. and Nathan (Rourke) was playing and when Bo (Levi Mitchell) came out here and we beat a Hamilton team. We had two good wins, but it was just too inconsistent, even on some of those other wins when it was, \u2018OK, we snuck those ones out.\u2019 You could tell\u2026 we were grinding and we were fighting and we were working but it just wasn\u2019t the sustained level of quality play throughout the year. That was obvious for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also obvious the team took a beating in last year\u2019s free agency. They lost receiver Kenny Lawler, defensive back Tyrell Ford and guard Liam Dobson to big offers, and the names they brought in \u2014 defensive end James Vaughters, receivers Dillon Mitchell and Jerreth Sterns, and returner\/running back Peyton Logan \u2014 didn\u2019t move the needle.<\/p>\n
Mitchell was paid nearly $150,000 and turned out to be a massive whiff with just 19 catches for 193 yards and a touchdown in nine games. There was a point in the year where the Bombers preferred to start fifth-round rookie Canadian Joey Corcoran over him.<\/p>\n
\u201cCertainly, everybody was on board when Dillon came here. The reports were great, his film was good, and he showed up and he just struggled,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to get into the specifics, but yeah, Dillon struggled. It is what it is\u2026 he struggled having the productivity, getting targets, the whole bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
The receiving corps used to be a strength for the club but this year it turned out to be a glaring issue. They only got five games out of Dalton Schoen \u2014 who re-tore the ACL in his left knee \u2014 and watched Lawler have a career-high year in Hamilton with 86 catches for 1,443 yards and 14 touchdowns.<\/p>\n
Lawler told the Free Press back in September that he wanted to stay in Winnipeg, but he didn\u2019t receive an offer from the Bombers until the day before free agency began.<\/p>\n
According to Walters, that\u2019s not exactly true.<\/p>\n
\u201cKenny is a very emotional young man, which makes him really good on the football field. I deal with the agent on that sort of stuff. The agent and I\u2026 it wasn\u2019t the day before free agency. We had lots of talks\u2026 and it did not work out,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very similar to the first time when Kenny left to Edmonton (in 2022) where we thought there was a decent number and then another team came in quite a bit over the top and it was like, \u2018OK. Good for you and your family. That\u2019s awesome.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Now moving ahead, what\u2019s the plan at the quarterback position? Zach Collaros will turn 38 next season and is coming off back-to-back years with just 17 touchdown passes and 15-plus interceptions.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s under contract for another year at reportedly $600,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve never been big on renegotiating. Zach\u2019s earned his contract. He led us to all those Grey Cups playing at a high level,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to be better at surrounding him with better support for him. You saw it last year and again this year, he\u2019s still a guy that can get it done out there. We just need him to surround him with better support.\u201d<\/p>\n
The potential future of the position could be Taylor Elgersma. They selected the Canadian passer in the second round of the 2025 CFL draft after a standout career at Wilfrid Laurier. Elgersma ended up signing with the NFL\u2019s Green Bay Packers and fared well over the course of three pre-season games \u2014 completing 16-of-23 passes for 166 yards, one touchdown and zero picks \u2014 before being released at the end of training camp.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s currently a free agent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw him in Packers camp this year and he looked good. He can sling the ball,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still, organizationally, optimistic that we\u2019ll see (him) but I don\u2019t think that\u2019s going to sort itself out until after February 1 when all those future contracts get signed. That\u2019s their prime objective, to be honest, to hold out and try and get another NFL shot. We\u2019ll just wait and see what happens\u2026 I am optimistic if, by February, when that futures contract window closes for opportunities for guys I do believe they would be happy to come up and start playing in the CFL.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s Brady Oliveira, the 2024 CFL Most Outstanding Player, who made it clear he wants to be paid what he deserves and play for a winner. The 28-year-old tailback from Winnipeg totalled 1,709 yards and three touchdowns this season and needs a new deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrady\u2019s an outstanding player, a big part of our community. And do we want him back? A hundred percent,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAnd now it\u2019s a matter of what does that look like and the process will start, and it probably won\u2019t be quick. But we want Brady back.\u201d<\/p>\n
One thing is certain: Walters, assistant GM Danny McManus (who will remain with the team despite some interest from Hamilton) and head coach Mike O\u2019Shea \u2014 who also signed a three-year extension \u2014 have their hands full.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know rebuild. People use that term. But certainly we need to accept we weren\u2019t good enough,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want to say rebuild, make changes \u2014 we need to accept that fact. Yeah, we need to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n
winnipegfreepress.com\/taylorallen<\/p>\n
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Taylor Allen 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor 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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