Winnipeg Blue Bombers number one quarterback Zach Collaros is back in town after all the CFL free agency hoopla last week.
Collaros took part in an autograph signing on Tuesday after speaking with the media for the first time since the end-of-season locker room purge in the fall.
Collaros said it has been a good off-season so far and is already looking forward to the new season. He is working on a new playbook with new offensive coordinator Tommy Condell and has high hopes for himself after a bad year in 2025, but added that they can’t dwell on their struggles from last season.
He called their free agent signings “awesome” and was a big fan of general manager Kyle Walters’ additions to the offense with the signings of offensive lineman Jarell Broxton and receivers Tim White and Tommy Nield.
Collaros said the players are excited about the recent free agent moves.
“Yeah, a lot of noise,” Collaros said. “You lose some players along the way which makes it tough. You lose teammates, but yeah, we all sit back, and also like to play fantasy GM, and like, what are we going to do. So, there’s a lot of agreement on all these signings. From the players’ perspective, there’s a lot of excitement, so, a lot of us are texting during that three-four day window.”
Collaros is entering the final year of his contract and will be 38 at the end of the season. He said there’s a chance this will be his last season, but he’ll live it like any other season.
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“Do I want to continue?” Collaros said. “If I feel healthy and I think I can help the club, then yes.
“I think I still feel really good. I still really enjoy, love the whole process. I enjoy working out and getting up in the morning and doing it. This off-season has been a lot of fun, working with Tommy and getting things ready for training camp and the season. So, I feel rejuvenated in that way, more involved in this than I have been in the last five years. So, it’s been really fun. I’m really excited for this year.”
While Collaros lost two of his favorite targets to free agency in Keric Wheatfall and Jerreth Sterns, he has two new weapons in White and Nield with White coming off a thousand-yard season in Hamilton.
“He’s fast,” Collaros said. “I love his experience. He played this game I think it was four or five years in a row with a thousand yards, his durability.”
“The people I’ve talked to who know Tim and have been around him, all have the same sentiment about him. Like, he’s a great teammate. He really cares, so he’ll be a good fit.”
Collaros was already somewhat familiar with Nield after training with him the previous off-season.
“I pitched with Tommy I think two or three years ago,” he said. “It was like my first day pitching in the off-season and he was running. I pulled Shamawd (Chambers) aside and went who is that? Like, what college did he go to? He was like that Tommy Nield, idiot. I was like oh s–t. Because you don’t see anyone without a helmet and I don’t really watch on TV. He really impressed me and I started a relationship with him there.”
Collaros hopes the offense can hit the ground running when training camp begins on May 10.
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