{"id":483878,"date":"2026-02-18T21:53:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T21:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/483878\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T21:53:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T21:53:14","slug":"zach-collaros-believes-blue-bombers-sent-message-with-cfl-free-agent-haul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/483878\/","title":{"rendered":"Zach Collaros believes Blue Bombers sent message with CFL free agent haul"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Photo: Winnipeg Blue Bombers<\/p>\n

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were one of the most aggressive teams in CFL free agency, which has franchise quarterback Zach Collaros feeling excited for 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it just sends a message like, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re trying to win now. We want to continue competing for West (Division) championships and competing for Grey Cups,’\u201d Collaros told the media in Winnipeg on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the CFL, you can win the Grey Cup any year, but I think just echoing that and showing the guys, \u2018OK, we\u2019re in it to win it this year.\u2019 Not that we haven\u2019t been in the past, obviously, we try to do this every single season, but if there is deficiencies the front office saw, they tried to address them and that definitely stands out to the guys, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Blue Bombers had the league\u2019s worst passing attack last season due in part to an inconsistent receiving corps. Ontaria \u2018Pokey\u2019 Wilson played only six regular-season games after trying out for the New York Jets, Dalton Schoen missed 13 regular-season games due to a torn ACL, and a hamstring injury prevented Nic Demski from suiting up for the East Semi-Final against the Montreal Alouettes.<\/p>\n

Winnipeg signed veteran receiver Tim White to a one-year contract worth a little over $220,000<\/a> after he was released by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The three-time All-CFL selection has had four 1,000-yard seasons and should provide the receiving corps with some much-needed speed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s fast. I love his experience. He\u2019s played this game, I think it\u2019s four or five years in a row with 1,000 yards. His durability (stands out). I talked to (Hamilton head coach) Scott Milanovich a couple weeks back when this all went down and he said to me, \u2018You\u2019re gonna love Tim, he hasn\u2019t missed the practice in two, three years,’\u201d said Collaros.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people that I talked to that know of Tim and that have been around him have all echoed the same sentiment about him \u2014 he\u2019s a great teammate, he cares a great deal, so he\u2019s going to fit in well. The tangible stuff stands out on film \u2014 he\u2019s fast, he\u2019s a reliable guy. \u2026 He\u2019s played in (new offensive coordinator) Tommy (Condell)\u2019s system, so I was able to talk to Tommy a little bit before (the signing) went down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Canadian receiver Tommy Nield was added after a breakout season with the Roughriders on a two-year deal worth $175,000 in 2026<\/a>. Collaros said he unwittingly threw to Nield a few years ago at a camp hosted by former CFL receiver Shamawd Chambers in Ontario, where Collaros lives during the offseason. The veteran quarterback was impressed by the native of Guelph, Ont. but didn\u2019t initially recognize him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI pulled Shamawd aside, I go, \u2018Who is that? What college does he goes to?\u2019 He\u2019s like, \u2018That\u2019s Tommy Nield, you idiot.\u2019 I was like, \u2018Oh, s\u2013t,’\u201d said Collaros.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Nield) really impressed me and I kind of developed a relationship with him there, and over the last two seasons have watched him a lot more closely. The run he put together in (Saskatchewan) last year was really impressive and he\u2019s played all the different spots (in the receiving corps). He\u2019s a great route-runner, he\u2019s been coached by great coaches. Marquay (McDaniel) had him out there in (Saskatchewan) and Pete Costanza had him in Toronto. Pete always speaks really highly of him, too. He\u2019s another guy that can play different positions, can play at a high level, and he\u2019s a Canadian guy, so that makes a big difference, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Blue Bombers also signed 3DownNation\u2019s top free agent<\/a>: offensive lineman Jarell Broxton. The 32-year-old was named All-CFL with the B.C. Lions last season and was the league\u2019s top-ranked pass blocker among offensive tackles, per Pro Football Focus. Kendall Randolph, who started at right tackle for Winnipeg in 2025, allowed a pressure rate of 5.1 percent. Broxton, who is expected to take over that position with Stanley Bryant remaining at left tackle, allowed a pressure rate of 2.4 percent.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Broxton is a) stud,\u201d said Collaros. \u201cBig-bodied guy, moves his feet well. I know (Patrick Neufeld) speaking to (former Winnipeg offensive lineman Michael) Couture out there in B.C. was upset that they lost him when that all went down. I was able to speak to (Broxton) for a couple of days after that all happened and he seems like a great guy. Some of the people that I\u2019ve talked to from out there in B.C. and people that have been around him say the same thing \u2014 great guy, great teammate, he\u2019s gonna fit in really well, and from my interactions with him, I could definitely see why.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collaros didn\u2019t think the Blue Bombers were going to be in the market for Broxton \u2014 he\u2019ll earn $250,000 in hard money in 2026 and 2027<\/a> \u2014 and was surprised to see the Tiger-Cats release White. The team also added two key defensive pieces in two-time All-CFL defensive lineman Jake Ceresna and veteran cornerback Jonathan Moxey.<\/p>\n

Based on his conversations with veteran teammates like Neufeld, Bryant, Deatrick Nichols, and Redha Kramdi, Collaros feels a sense of optimism after a down year in 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201c(There\u2019s) a lot of buzz (among longtime Blue Bombers),\u201d said Collaros. \u201cWe all sit back and play fantasy GM, too, and (think about) what we would do. There\u2019s a lot of agreement on a lot of these signings from the players standpoint and a lot of excitement. A lot of us were texting during the three, four-day window, whatever that was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c(As players), we develop relationships outside of our locker room, too, so there\u2019s guys that we do know that you try to be in touch with during the offseasons, but the signings that we had I thought were awesome. All five of the guys \u2014 and I know we\u2019ve brought back a lot of people, too \u2014 but the five kind of marquee signings that we made from other organizations, I thought, are really going to help our club, so it\u2019s exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo: Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were one of the most aggressive teams in CFL free…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483879,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[166835,166836,22070,22936,49,48,7028,521,522,520,194642,527,14108,116856,46245,82,176423,171515,180627,22073,52049],"class_list":{"0":"post-483878","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-3down","9":"tag-3downnation","10":"tag-blue-bombers","11":"tag-bombers","12":"tag-ca","13":"tag-canada","14":"tag-canadian","15":"tag-canadian-football-league","16":"tag-canadianfootballleague","17":"tag-cfl","18":"tag-collaros","19":"tag-football","20":"tag-free-agency","21":"tag-jarell-broxton","22":"tag-jonathan-moxey","23":"tag-sports","24":"tag-stanley-bryant","25":"tag-tim-white","26":"tag-tommy-nield","27":"tag-winnipeg","28":"tag-zach-collaros"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483878","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=483878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}