Winnipeg Blue Bombers QB Zach Collaros practices, will play against Argonauts
Starting quarterback Zach Collaros was back on the field with the rest of his teammates to start the practice week. Collaros was a full participant on Tuesday, despite getting knocked out of their last game in the first half.
Collaros was back at the controls of the Bombers' first string offence only four days after taking a hellacious hit in the second quarter of Friday's lopsided defeat to the Calgary Stampeders. Collaros has a history of head injuries but wouldn't confirm he suffered another concussion.
Collaros said there's no chance he misses Saturday's Grey Cup rematch against the Toronto Argonauts. The team is calling it a neck injury on the official injury report.
'I had to come out of the game and be evaluated,' said Collaros. 'And felt that (I) shouldn't go back in.'
Story continues below advertisement
Collaros said he understands there's always a risk in football, especially at the QB position.
Get daily National news
Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
'It's all I know, but it's part of the game,' said Collaros. 'It doesn't happen that often. Unfortunately, in my career, I've had some kinda chronic stuff come back up in different seasons. So, it's been tough on me obviously personally, but if you've played this game your whole life, you understand the risk of it.
'But again, getting back in the meeting room, being back on the practice field, you just, like, forget all about that and just keep going, you know. And you can't play the game to not get hurt. You got to get out there and sling it.'
5:51
RAW: Blue Bombers Zach Collaros Interview – July 22
Collaros has taken countless big hits throughout his 14-year CFL career. He said he thought last week's hit was clean, but the timing was late, and Collaros thinks the CFL can do more to protect the quarterbacks with bigger punishments for the late hits.
Story continues below advertisement
'I just think there's not a lot of consistency,' said Collaros. 'It's kinda the bottom line.
'I have a lot of friends that watch and they say why wasn't this a late hit, this is a late hit. There's just not a lot of consistency. I think that's the frustrating part. I think there's ways to mitigate those hits from happening. I think they'd have to be drastic, and I don't think that the league or the association are ready to do those kinda things.'
After back-to-back losses, the Bombers tangle with the 1-5 Argos on Saturday with kickoff at 6:00 p.m. Manitoba time.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Toronto Blue Jays acquire pitchers Bieber, Varland
TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays made a splash on MLB trade deadline day, acquiring right-hander Shane Bieber from the Cleveland Guardians. Cleveland received righty Khal Stephen, a 22-year-old minor-league pitcher ranked the No. 5 prospect in Toronto's system by MLB Pipeline. Toronto also picked up right-handed pitcher Louis Varland and first baseman Ty France from the Minnesota Twins, as well as catching prospect Brandon Valenzuela from the San Diego Padres. Toronto sent outfielder Alan Roden and left-handed pitcher Kendry Rojas to the Twins, and dealt infielder Will Wagner to the Padres on Thursday. Bieber, 30, is nearing a return from Tommy John surgery and hasn't pitched in the majors this season. He's posted a 1.59 earned-run average and 0.71 WHIP across four rehab starts, including a seven-strikeout performance over four innings Tuesday with Double-A Akron. Story continues below advertisement The former American League Cy Young winner has spent his entire career with Cleveland since he was drafted in 2016, compiling a 62-32 record with a 3.22 ERA over 136 big-league appearances. He's also a two-time all-star, a Gold Glove recipient and was named MVP of the 2019 all-star game. Bieber won the Cy Young in 2020 during the pandemic-shortened 60-game season, after leading the majors in wins (8), ERA (1.63) and strikeouts (122). He became just the ninth pitcher since 1913 to claim MLB's Triple Crown. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy He agreed to a one-year, US$14 million contract last fall with a $16 million player option for 2026. Stephen, meanwhile, has gone 9-1 with a 2.06 ERA across three minor-league levels this season. The Mississippi State product was a second-round pick by Toronto in 2024 and has struck out 27.9 per cent of opposing batters in his first full pro campaign. Story continues below advertisement The Jays continued to load up on pitchers after adding reliever Seranthony Dominguez from the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday. Varland, 27, posted a 2.02 earned-run average, which ranks sixth among AL relievers, through 51 games with the Twins this season. The six-foot-one, 205-pound thrower has played 89 games, including 22 starts, over four seasons with Minnesota. His record was 8-14 with a 4.62 ERA. The 31-year-old France hit .251 in 101 games for the Twins this year, including 19 doubles, six home runs, and 44 RBI. The Californian has appeared in 803 career MLB games with San Diego, Seattle, Cincinnati and Minnesota. The 24-year-old Valenzuela hit 14 doubles, a triple, a dozen home runs and 46 RBI while carrying an on-base plus slugging percentage of .700 through 87 games for Double-A San Antonio this season. The catcher from Hermosillo, Mexico, has thrown out 25 base runners. His 34.7 per cent caught stealing percentage ranks second among all Double-A catchers. Roden appeared in 43 games for Toronto this year with a batting average of .204, seven extra-base hits and eight RBI. The 25-year-old was named the Blue Jays Minor League Player of the Year in 2024. The 22-year-old Rojas started 10 games across four levels in the Blue Jays' minor-league system this season for an ERA of 3.46 over 41.2 innings. Story continues below advertisement Wagner from Houston, Texas, appeared in 40 games for the Blue Jays this season with a batting average of .237, seven extra-base hits and seven RBI. Toronto acquired Wagner, 27, from the Astros at last season's trade deadline along with outfielder Joey Loperfido and pitcher Jake Bloss in exchange for pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
No Mitchell, again, for Bombers
Dillon Mitchell must be the next man up, right? Wrong. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are down two receivers — Dalton Schoen (knee) and, most recently, Kody Case (leg) — and they still won't dress their prized free agent signing. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Despite the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' high-priced investment in the off-season and current injuries to starters, the club is yet to move receiver Dillon Mitchell (13) from the practice roster. Instead of rolling with Mitchell in Friday night's rematch with the Toronto Argonauts at home, the Bombers have opted to start rookie Canadian Joey Corcoran at slotback. Mitchell, 28, signed a one-year deal in the winter worth $148,000, including a $63,300 signing bonus, and has yet to play a snap for the Blue and Gold. 'What you pay a player to get them here doesn't guarantee them anything,' O'Shea said on Thursday. 'I think that is a misnomer you hear often in the media where, 'He was paid this much so he must be a starter.' I don't know why (that is) I have never even thought of that. We pay guys, and from there we look at what is best on game day.' Mitchell, a seventh-round draft pick by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2019 NFL draft, caught 58 passes for 727 yards and four touchdowns last season with the Edmonton Elks. He was brought in to help fill the void at the 'X' spot (wide receiver) left by Kenny Lawler who signed in Hamilton, but he struggled in training camp and lost the job to second-year Bomber Keric Wheatfall. 'I am sure he is not happy about not playing, but he is terrific as a pro, all the guys are,' O'Shea said. 'You don't want players that are just happy to not play. You want them to be hungry and work for it and all that stuff. We have a locker room full of those guys who don't get to play. It doesn't mean they aren't good players, but this is how we see the roster right now.' While Mitchell has mostly played wideout in his career, he does have experience with the waggle and playing out of the slot. Mitchell has been demoted to the practice roster and wasn't made available to chat to media on Thursday. 'We see Mitchell best suited for the position Keric Wheatfall is playing,' said O'Shea. 'And so, do you move Wheatfall to a position that he is not suited for either or do you put guys in a position where they are not, possibly, going to thrive as well?' Corcoran, a Montreal native, is a fifth-round pick out of New Hampshire where he had 459 receiving yards and four touchdowns as a senior. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Instead of rolling out Dillon Mitchell in Friday night's rematch with the Toronto Argonauts, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have opted to start rookie Canadian Joey Corcoran (81) at slotback. The 24-year-old caught four balls for 25 yards in last week's 31-17 loss in Toronto. He'll be backed up by former Manitoba Bisons standout Gavin Cobb. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 'Corcoran is (in because of) his desire and willingness to block, get his hands dirty and play special teams,' O'Shea said. 'It is the (style of) football we like.' It isn't a ratio thing. The Bombers already have eight Canadian starters in place and passed over Mitchell last week in favour of Case, a second-year player who had one catch for five yards in three games as a rookie. Regardless of what the reason is, Corcoran is motivated to make the most of the opportunity. 'I think we're all very talented receivers,' said Corcoran. 'I'm just happy they trusted me.' Taylor AllenReporter 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. Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Global News
2 hours ago
- Global News
Winnipeg Blue Bombers tweak offence, defence for rematch with Argonauts
Mike O'Shea will field a revamped roster when the Blue Bombers host the Toronto Argonauts and try to end a three-game losing skid Friday. Injuries factored into some changes, including one that has some fans scratching their heads. Others, particularly in the secondary, are aimed at boosting performance after Winnipeg (3-3) lost 31-17 to Toronto (2-5) last week. 'Some were out of necessity, and some are game planning with what Toronto has on their roster, what we have on our roster and how we think it fits and how you get matchups and stuff like that,' Blue Bombers head coach O'Shea said after Thursday's walk-through practice. Chris Streveler will be under centre for Winnipeg after starting quarterback Zach Collaros left last week's game at halftime with a neck injury that's sidelined him for the rematch. Story continues below advertisement Nick Arbuckle gets his eighth start for the Argonauts. Chad Kelly is on the six-game injured list because of the serious leg injury he suffered in last year's CFL East Division final. The change on Winnipeg's offence that's sparking questions from fans is the replacement for injured star slotback Dalton Schoen. Kody Case filled in for Schoen last week, but Case was carted off the field with what appeared to be a leg injury. Rookie Joey Corcoran from Montreal makes his first start at receiver. He's caught six passes for 36 yards in six games. Third-year CFLer Gavin Cobb will back up the receivers, meaning healthy veteran wide receiver Dillon Mitchell has yet to get into a game this season. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The American was moved to the practice roster and unavailable to the media Thursday. The former three-year Edmonton Elks pass catcher and kick returner was a big off-season acquisition for Winnipeg, after inking a one-year contract that's been reported as worth $148,000, including a $63,300 signing bonus. 'What you pay a player to get them here doesn't guarantee them anything,' O'Shea said. Mitchell has played slotback in his career, but O'Shea sees him as a better fit a wideout now held by Keric Wheatfall. Story continues below advertisement 'So do you move Keric Wheatfall to a position that he's not suited for either, or do you put guys where they're not possibly going to thrive as well?' O'Shea asked. The nuances of slotbacks using the waggle before the snap is different than wide receivers who usually run from a standing position, he said. 'Those type of ideas about, 'oh, he should be able to do this, he should be able to that,' it's not always the case,' O'Shea said. Corcoran is playing because of his desire and willingness to block, get his hands dirty and play special teams, the coach added. Winnipeg's secondary was shuffled for the rematch, including cornerback Marquise Bridges shifted to the practice roster and five-year dime back Reda Kramdi making his first CFL start at safety. 'We weren't playing well, we weren't good enough,' was O'Shea's rationale for the changes. Argonauts receiver Damonte Coxie is coming off a career-best 145 receiving yards with one touchdown off six catches last week. The six-foot-three wide receiver often has a height advantage over his defenders. 'It's an advantage, but also I respect all of them over that side — tall or short,' Coxie told reporters after a practice earlier this week. Story continues below advertisement Toronto won the turnover battle 7-1. 'I told them just because we had a win, we can't have a false sense of confidence,' Argonauts head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said. 'We built a little bit of confidence, but we've got to have a great sense of reality. 'We're 2-5 going against a team that's .500 and at their place and they play well.' Streveler was optimistic heading into the game, even though one practice this week was cancelled because of poor air quality. 'We've done enough this week to feel really good about our game plan and what we're doing, with guys where they're supposed to be, all that stuff,' he said. 'So I feel good about it, guys feel good about it and we're ready to play.' LOPSIDED LOSSES The Bombers have lost three consecutive games by more than 14 points for the first time since 2013. ON A ROLL Arbuckle has a seven-game stretch of starts with at least 240 yards passing and an eight-game run with at least one passing touchdown. He needs 36 yards to reach 10,000 career passing yards.
