Winnipeg Blue Bombers number one quarterback Zach Collaros is back in the city after all the hustle and bustle of CFL free agency 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 cleanout back in the fall.
Collaros said it’s been a good off-season so far and is already looking forward to a new campaign. He’s been working on the new playbook with new offensive coordinator Tommy Condell and has high expectations for himself after a down year in 2025, but added they can’t continue to dwell on their struggles from last season.
He called their free agent signings “awesome” and is a big fan of the additions general manager Kyle Walters made on offence with the signings of offensive lineman Jarell Broxton and receivers Tim White and Tommy Nield.
Collaros said the players are all excited over the recent free agent moves.
“Yeah, a lot of buzz,” said Collaros. “You lose some guys along the way which makes it tough. You lose teammates but yeah, we all sit back, and like play fantasy GM too, and like, what we would do. So, there’s a lot of agreement on all of these signings. From the players standpoint, a lot of excitement, so, a lot of us were texting during those three-four-day window.”
Collaros is entering the final year of his contract and will be 38 years old by the end of the season. He said there’s a chance this will be his final season, but he’ll approach it like any other.
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“Would I like to keep going?” said Collaros. “If I feel healthy and I think I can help the club, then yeah.
“Like I still feel really good. I still really enjoy, like the entire process. I enjoy working out and getting up early and doing it. This off-season has been great, working with Tommy and putting stuff together for the training camp and the season. So, I’ve kinda been reinvigorated in that way, just having my hand in it a little bit more than I have in the last five years. So, it’s been a lot of fun. I’m really excited for the year.”
While Collaros lost two of his favourite 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,” said Collaros. “I love his experience. He’s played this game, I think it’s four or five years in a row with a thousand yards, his durability.
“The people that I talked to that know of Tim and that have been around him, have all echoed the same sentiment about him. Like, he’s a great teammate. He cares a great deal, so he’s gonna fit in well.”
Collaros is already a little familiar with Nield after working out with him during a previous off-season.
“I threw with Tommy, I think two or three years ago,” he said. “It was like my first day throwing in the off-season and he was running. I pull Shamawd (Chambers) aside and go who is that? Like, what college does he go to? He’s like that’s Tommy Nield you idiot. I was like oh s–t. Cause you don’t see anybody without the helmet on and I don’t really watch on TV. He really impressed me and I kinda developed a relationship with him there.”
Collaros hopes the offence can hit the ground running when training camp begins on May 10.
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