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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Blue Bombers general manager Kyle Walters on free agency status quo: \u201cthat eventually bites you in the ass.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lack of difference makers in that group, along with superstar receiver Kenny Lawler and standout Canadian corner Tyrell Ford walking out the door, led to a fourth-place finish in the West and an opening round playoff loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is that fine line \u2014 we\u2019re winning, we\u2019re going to Grey Cups so it\u2019s status quo, status quo and then that eventually bites you in the ass and it did last year,\u201d Bombers GM Kyle Walters said Thursday in a Zoom call with reporters.<\/p>\n
The Bombers learned the error of their ways and made it clear this off-season they don\u2019t intend on making the same mistake twice \u2014 no matter how much it costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou go from first place all those years to fourth place and then the next slide is out of the playoffs and that\u2019s not something we were prepared to think as a realistic option,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, yes, let\u2019s be aggressive, let\u2019s get back to making a splash. It\u2019s been a few years. We\u2019ve been quite status quo, to be honest, so it certainly was a concerted organizational effort. Let\u2019s target the guys we want and let\u2019s get them.\u201d<\/p>\n
And boy, did they get them.<\/p>\n
The Bombers paid a premium to land both offensive lineman Jarell Broxton (B.C.) and defensive lineman Jake Ceresna (Edmonton). They further opened their wallet to add corner Jonathan Moxey (Hamilton), receiver Tommy Nield (Saskatchewan) and linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox (Ottawa).<\/p>\n
This all came a week after inking three-time CFL all-star receiver Tim White, who was made available before free agency began as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats had released him.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us just to stand pat or make minor moves, I don\u2019t think sends the right message of who we are as the Winnipeg Football Club,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the bar we\u2019ve set is, I want to say we\u2019re the model of the CFL, we had that run of going to Grey Cups and being aggressive and showing them that last year was a blip, not the norm.\u201d<\/p>\n
The roster looks nice on paper, but they don\u2019t hand out the Grey Cup in the off-season. Plus, there are still questions that need answers.<\/p>\n
Broxton: LT or RT?<\/p>\n
Jarell Broxton was an all-star left tackle last season for the B.C. Lions and has minimal experience on the right side. Stanley Bryant, who turns 40 in May and signed a one-year extension for 2026, has protected the quarterback\u2019s blindside in Winnipeg dating to 2015 and is considered by many as the greatest offensive lineman in CFL history.<\/p>\n
So who\u2019s playing where?<\/p>\n
\u201c(Broxton\u2019s) comfortable with the right. He\u2019s willing to do anything. So that\u2019s the way we see it. He\u2019s fine with it,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n
Broxton is the highest paid American offensive lineman in the league. That title used to belong to right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick who left Winnipeg for Saskatchewan in 2024. Since then, the Roughriders \u2014 the reigning champs \u2014 have been on the up, and the Bombers have been on a slide.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t want to admit a mistake, but you go back and wish, yeah, would we have maybe made a couple of different decisions to keep (Hardrick), then probably we would have liked to in hindsight. But it is what it is,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would have liked to with Kenny (Lawler) in hindsight, too. You just can\u2019t make all the finances work all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Improving the defence<\/p>\n
Does this team have room for Tony Jones, Kyrie Wilson and now Jovan Santos-Knox at linebacker?<\/p>\n
Jones and Wilson held down the fort at the two starting spots last season. Meanwhile Santos-Knox is a former all-star and is coming off an impressive season in Ottawa where he was the club\u2019s Most Outstanding Defensive Player nominee.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a guy we\u2019re familiar with, that the coaches know and like and trust. In that linebacker group he\u2019ll be able to come in and compete and we\u2019ll wait and see how things shake down after training camp,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had this discussion with Mike (O\u2019Shea): let\u2019s try to be careful not to have our Week 1 roster set prior to training camp. You have an idea of where everything fits in but there\u2019s nothing wrong with having some competition out there with players and let\u2019s see who wins the jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonathan Moxey\u2019s name has been lost in the shuffle with all the other signings, but don\u2019t get it twisted: the Bombers are very high on him \u2014 especially defensive co-ordinator Jordan Younger.<\/p>\n
Moxey has 76 career starts and eight interceptions to his name and was a CFL all-star in 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s no secret: we had some issues at corner last year, whether it be injuries, whether it be performance. It just wasn\u2019t good enough,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat interior group (Evan Holm, Redha Kramdi, and Deatrick Nichols) was pretty set but we really needed to improve the outside. And (Moxey) was the guy that JY had put ahead of any of the corners at the time that this is the guy we wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then of course, there\u2019s Ceresna. In recent years, the Bombers have rolled with younger, cheaper Americans on the interior of the defensive line. Walters explained that since the club has a few intriguing prospects at defensive end \u2014 such as Matthew Jaworski and Kydran Jenkins who were signed to the practice roster in October and started the regular-season finale \u2014 that it allowed them to splurge for Ceresna.<\/p>\n
Elgersma update<\/p>\n
Walters must be tired of getting asked about quarterback Taylor Elgersma.<\/p>\n
The Bombers drafted the Canadian passer in the second round, 18th overall, in the 2025 CFL Draft but they haven\u2019t seen him yet as he continues to chase the NFL dream. To further complicate matters, he was recently selected in the United Football League\u2019s draft by the Birmingham Stallions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re still holding out hope that there\u2019s an NFL contract\u2026 So there is zero clarity and I guess the longer it goes, from my standpoint, I guess the worse it feels that he\u2019ll be in Winnipeg,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess I was hoping come February 1 if there\u2019s no futures contract that he\u2019d jump at the chance to sign a Blue Bombers contract but that has not been the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saying goodbye<\/p>\n
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Former Bombers Keric Wheatfall (Hamilton), Demerio Houston (Ottawa), Sterns (Montreal) and Vaughters (Saskatchewan) have all signed on with new teams. <\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately for those guys, once all this was executed there just wasn\u2019t the means to bring them back,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s veteran Canadian linebacker\/special teams ace Shayne Gauthier who remains unsigned. Gauthier, who turns 34 next week, had been with the Bombers since 2016.<\/p>\n
\u201cShayne had a hell of a career, but Mike\u2019s let Shayne know that we won\u2019t be offering him a contract this year.\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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