With no roster limits in the CFL pre-season, everyone is getting a chance to play for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The Bombers host the Saskatchewan Roughriders in their first exhibition test on Saturday afternoon, and the Bombers will dress all of their healthy bodies with more than 80 players listed on their game-day roster. Receivers Nic Demski and Dalton Schoen, who are dealing with injuries, will both sit out.
Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea wants everyone to play to give them as much opportunity as possible to impress the coaching staff. There’s a number of starting jobs up for grabs at this year’s camp with open spots at receiver, in the defensive secondary, and on the offensive line after the off-season departures of starters Kenny Lawler, Ontaria Wilson, Tyrell Ford, Brandon Alexander, and Liam Dobson.
After watching his players for 12 days of training camp, O’Shea will now get his first look at some of his new players in a real game situation with live bullets flying.
“You can’t possibly simulate the level of physicality in practice, in training camp,” O’Shea said. “As much as you may want to try to get it to that level, you’ll never get to that level. The players won’t experience the type of fatigue through training camp that they will in a game.
“It’s just a completely different feel for them. As much as you try to get them in game-shape, I think everybody realizes that the only thing that gets them in game-shape is playing games. So, there is obviously more stock put into what they do in these next two weeks.”
Fresh off signing a one-year contract extension, first string quarterback Zach Collaros is listed to start at QB for the Blue and Gold. But the real question is how much will he play.
Neither Collaros nor the head coach would put a number on how many series he will appear in. The Bombers have a bye in week one, and Collaros is suspended for their first game in week two. He won’t play a real game until the third week of the regular season over four weeks from now, so Collaros could take a few more reps than usual for the pre-season.
And with QBs not taking hits in camp, believe it or not, Collaros is actually looking forward to taking some contact again.
“You need it,” said Collaros. “Your body starts to get acclimated to it as the season goes on, right? So, yeah, you’re definitely sore after that first game of contact, so the earlier the better it happens in the game.”
Kickoff is at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday at Princess Auto Stadium and the two teams will meet again next Friday in Regina to close out the pre-season.
