2024/2025 Blue Bombers Off-Season Thread

[Goalie]

Guess I’m in the minority but I enjoyed Kelly as coach. He was a refreshing presence. I enjoyed him trolling the coaches show. But that was the start of a run of season tickets so maybe I’m just remembering differently. No doubt he turned out to be a grade A piece of dog **** human but that was a memorable season if nothing else. Ticats boat incident. Blue out. Was memorable.  Fred Reid against BC ran for like 250. Bernard added another almost 100. Bishop throwing bombs. Lefors sucking. Throwing in Brian Randall and him not being able to hit the side of a barn. Just tremendous. He was trolling people. Our seasons were next to his Winnipeg girlfriend also so yeah. Was memorable 

Edited Sunday at 05:08 PM by Goalie

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

Was thinking this morning...Keanu Yazbeck would be a great pick for us in the 2nd or 3rd round.  A guy who legitimately could spell Brady and be a difference maker.  Very similar style, a little more twitchy, a little less brute force but very similar.  Would be nice to have a critical mass of guys in the backfield to keep them all up for 18 games + playoffs.

I think we could easily walk away from this draft with a couple playmakers on O who are good ones from Day 1.  There's a crapload of receivers.  Guys who would be 1st-2nd rounders in most drafts will probably be around in the 4th round, and that's discounting the obvious NFL guys.

I like that he does a good job of getting low when he needs to, and doesn’t let defenders square him up. Very much in the right mold for our running game. 

 This draft has a couple guys that are athletic enough to play rb, with good size (too tall if any thing) but who have the classical failing of not getting low enough in their pads. They try to run upright like a small cut back. And mostly the guys in this draft have one or two good measurable traits and a few meh ones. Yazbeck is pretty consistent across the board athletically. 
 

I don’t think we’d look as high as 2nd though. Already having Logan and mci I don’t see an easy path to the active roster or in game reps for another rb.  As such, I think we could look at who of those guys slides to mid draft range. Maybe 3rd if it’s a guy we really really like. 
 

I would like one more ni rb to push mci, and fill out the depth chart. Unless that guy is a strong pass catcher or teams guy I think they’d sit on the pr a good bit. 

[17to85]

34 minutes ago, Goalie said:

Guess I’m in the minority but I enjoyed Kelly as coach

Guy was the start or the spiral towards the darkest times... decided Kevin Glenn wasn't good enough and opting to hitch his wagon to a guy who had proven nothing... you don't replace Glenn until someone in house is pushing him out or you sign a proven starter in FA. Just then first in a series of "smarter than everyone else" moves Kelly made to damage the team. 

He put his ego aside yeah maybe he could have been an OK coach, but having to be gm, he, oc, everything just sewered the team.

[Goalie]

Sure. But I found him calling out fans refreshing. Yeah dude was a clown with 2 many hats. I’d say Mack and buchko did more damage than Kelly tho. No doubt Kelly started it but buchko and Mack no help. Bauer not innocent either. 

Edited Sunday at 05:58 PM by Goalie

[JuranBoldenRules]

Just now, wbbfan said:

I like that he does a good job of getting low when he needs to, and doesn’t let defenders square him up. Very much in the right mold for our running game. 

 This draft has a couple guys that are athletic enough to play rb, with good size (too tall if any thing) but who have the classical failing of not getting low enough in their pads. They try to run upright like a small cut back. And mostly the guys in this draft have one or two good measurable traits and a few meh ones. Yazbeck is pretty consistent across the board athletically. 
 

I don’t think we’d look as high as 2nd though. Already having Logan and mci I don’t see an easy path to the active roster or in game reps for another rb.  As such, I think we could look at who of those guys slides to mid draft range. Maybe 3rd if it’s a guy we really really like. 
 

I would like one more ni rb to push mci, and fill out the depth chart. Unless that guy is a strong pass catcher or teams guy I think they’d sit on the pr a good bit. 

IMO MCI isn't in the same realm as a guy like Yazbeck as a tailback.  A lot of people put stock into the system Yazbeck was in at Western, but his backfield mate Keon Edwards who had 3000 yards career rushing going into last year 7+ yards a carry was a 5 yard a carry guy last year while Yazbeck was 10.  There's something special there.  

Even a guy like Knight is a bit of an enigma but there's definitely teams that have been following him for 3-4 years that see a ton of talent there and don't care too much about the combine/NFL talk.  If anything the testing numbers probably solidify him as a CFLer.  And he's probably the most reliable receiver of the tailback in this draft and that carries a lot for the role of a running back in this era.  

Think MCI could be a nice special teams, H-back type guy in the passing game.  Kind of what we mostly needed that Augustine roster spot to be over the years, way more raw physicality there to develop on special teams.  Don't really see him being a significant option carrying the ball.  Certainly not a guy who is going to dictate draft strategy by being on the roster.  Obviously have potentially a more pressing need at receiver but for the most part think the Bombers can go best player available with an eye to some spots where the Canadian depth is aged. 

To me with a Canadian starting at running back and potentially wanting to use 3 Americans on OL having more of that Harris/Oliviera, younger Augustine type combo where you have a guy that can slot in and produce if Brady needs to miss 2-3 games with minimal roster disruption.  Wouldn't force the pick, but the guys are on the board who could offer that.  Other alternative is to be ready to swap a Canadian in at receiver for an American which is also something that can be achieved by grabbing a couple nice pieces/prospects out of this draft IMO. 

Then you have another guy in the MCI mould who are crazy athletes with minimal tailback reps like Oshinubi.  That guy needs a year or two to be a player in a CFL offense but can play special teams right away on sheer athleticism. 

I wouldn't be surprised to see a bunch of top 3 round picks from last year and 2023 not make their teams this year due to the strength of this rookie class.  MCI is a guy that could be on that list depending on who we draft at receiver/RB and special teams with the DB/LB class.  There's going to be a lot of good competition for the Canadian roster spots around the league.

[rebusrankin]

52 minutes ago, Goalie said:

Guess I’m in the minority but I enjoyed Kelly as coach. He was a refreshing presence. I enjoyed him trolling the coaches show. But that was the start of a run of season tickets so maybe I’m just remembering differently. No doubt he turned out to be a grade A piece of dog **** human but that was a memorable season if nothing else. Ticats boat incident. Blue out. Was memorable.  Fred Reid against BC ran for like 250. Bernard added another almost 100. Bishop throwing bombs. Lefors sucking. Throwing in Brian Randall and him not being able to hit the side of a barn. Just tremendous. He was trolling people. Our seasons were next to his Winnipeg girlfriend also so yeah. Was memorable 

Insulted Knuckles. Insulted the fans. Acted like a complete ******* to everybody. Thought he was smarter than he was. Terrible decisions. Lack of results. Kelly was the Donald Trump of coaches.

[Goalie]

Just now, rebusrankin said:

Insulted Knuckles. Insulted the fans. Acted like a complete ******* to everybody. Thought he was smarter than he was. Terrible decisions. Lack of results. Kelly was the Donald Trump of coaches.

Like I said if nothing else, he was memorable 

[Brandon]

54 minutes ago, Goalie said:

Guess I’m in the minority but I enjoyed Kelly as coach. He was a refreshing presence. I enjoyed him trolling the coaches show. But that was the start of a run of season tickets so maybe I’m just remembering differently. No doubt he turned out to be a grade A piece of dog **** human but that was a memorable season if nothing else. Ticats boat incident. Blue out. Was memorable.  Fred Reid against BC ran for like 250. Bernard added another almost 100. Bishop throwing bombs. Lefors sucking. Throwing in Brian Randall and him not being able to hit the side of a barn. Just tremendous. He was trolling people. Our seasons were next to his Winnipeg girlfriend also so yeah. Was memorable 

I remember him cutting talented guys and then running a crappy out dated offense that failed horribly and mid season he tried to salvage the year by signing Bishop and throwing bombs.     Maybe I mis-remembered ,  but didn't Kelly critique anyone running plays in the shotgun formation and then mid season that was all that he was running?  

 

[JuranBoldenRules]

19 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Guy was the start or the spiral towards the darkest times... decided Kevin Glenn wasn't good enough and opting to hitch his wagon to a guy who had proven nothing... you don't replace Glenn until someone in house is pushing him out or you sign a proven starter in FA. Just then first in a series of "smarter than everyone else" moves Kelly made to damage the team. 

He put his ego aside yeah maybe he could have been an OK coach, but having to be gm, he, oc, everything just sewered the team.

He was right though.  Kevin Glenn was a path to nowhere.  Guy played 18 seasons in the CFL with almost every franchise and never won a Grey Cup, even as a backup.  He won 4 playoff games in his whole career.  He only made it to 2 Grey Cups and started 1.  That is borderline impossible in a 8/9 team league.

Can **** on him for not being able to identify/develop a QB but the Kevin Glenn decision was necessary at the time for the franchise.

Edited Sunday at 06:02 PM by JuranBoldenRules

[wbbfan]

13 minutes ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

IMO MCI isn't in the same realm as a guy like Yazbeck as a tailback.  A lot of people put stock into the system Yazbeck was in at Western, but his backfield mate Keon Edwards who had 3000 yards career rushing going into last year 7+ yards a carry was a 5 yard a carry guy last year while Yazbeck was 10.  There's something special there.  

Even a guy like Knight is a bit of an enigma but there's definitely teams that have been following him for 3-4 years that see a ton of talent there and don't care too much about the combine/NFL talk.  If anything the testing numbers probably solidify him as a CFLer.  And he's probably the most reliable receiver of the tailback in this draft and that carries a lot for the role of a running back in this era.  

Think MCI could be a nice special teams, H-back type guy in the passing game.  Kind of what we mostly needed that Augustine roster spot to be over the years, way more raw physicality there to develop on special teams.  Don't really see him being a significant option carrying the ball.  Certainly not a guy who is going to dictate draft strategy by being on the roster.  Obviously have potentially a more pressing need at receiver but for the most part think the Bombers can go best player available with an eye to some spots where the Canadian depth is aged. 

To me with a Canadian starting at running back and potentially wanting to use 3 Americans on OL having more of that Harris/Oliviera, younger Augustine type combo where you have a guy that can slot in and produce if Brady needs to miss 2-3 games with minimal roster disruption.  Wouldn't force the pick, but the guys are on the board who could offer that.  Other alternative is to be ready to swap a Canadian in at receiver for an American which is also something that can be achieved by grabbing a couple nice pieces/prospects out of this draft IMO. 

Then you have another guy in the MCI mould who are crazy athletes with minimal tailback reps like Oshinubi.  That guy needs a year or two to be a player in a CFL offense but can play special teams right away on sheer athleticism. 

I wouldn't be surprised to see a bunch of top 3 round picks from last year and 2023 not make their teams this year due to the strength of this rookie class.  MCI is a guy that could be on that list depending on who we draft at receiver/RB and special teams with the DB/LB class.  There's going to be a lot of good competition for the Canadian roster spots around the league.

You’re right, mci isn’t close to ready as a rb for that kind of role. But roster wise, we will be carrying 3 already. I think the 4th needs to offer more than a rotational piece with Logan. 
 

knight mid draft would tremendous. (I’m kinda going 3rd down as mid as the end rounds aren’t much of any thing.) I think we have a couple guys in this draft that could run the ball in rotation and who will be available mid draft range. 
With out another team locked into a Canadian starting rb or a top end guy available, I think the rb class is stuck in a 2nd tier at best bracket. I don’t think these guys are who teams would target to flip the ratio. It’s kind of a bonus depth position to draft  

 

Idk what to expect from mci in terms of upside as a ball carrier. I think a lot of that will be determined this year. Like you said, he’s got a great niche / high floor role that he’s basically ready for now. And it fits much better than what we’ve had in the past. We also have to see how his athleticism will translate to the gridiron. 
 

I don’t think mci will be at risk, I doubt we draft another guy like him or stop going soo heavy with the ar. He should be pushed hard in camp though especially if we bring in a back. 
One of the most impressive things about mci is his uptake. He went from no where near ready for fb/teams reps to a good contributor in year 1. Don’t see that much improvement in season often. 
 

I fully expect this draft to be a big bolster to our depth and other teams.  I think we could see 3-4 guys making the ar out of this years draft being the norm, and contributing not just sitting. 

 

[Booch]

2 hours ago, wbbfan said:

You’re right, mci isn’t close to ready as a rb for that kind of role. But roster wise, we will be carrying 3 already. I think the 4th needs to offer more than a rotational piece with Logan. 
 

knight mid draft would tremendous. (I’m kinda going 3rd down as mid as the end rounds aren’t much of any thing.) I think we have a couple guys in this draft that could run the ball in rotation and who will be available mid draft range. 
With out another team locked into a Canadian starting rb or a top end guy available, I think the rb class is stuck in a 2nd tier at best bracket. I don’t think these guys are who teams would target to flip the ratio. It’s kind of a bonus depth position to draft  

 

Idk what to expect from mci in terms of upside as a ball carrier. I think a lot of that will be determined this year. Like you said, he’s got a great niche / high floor role that he’s basically ready for now. And it fits much better than what we’ve had in the past. We also have to see how his athleticism will translate to the gridiron. 
 

I don’t think mci will be at risk, I doubt we draft another guy like him or stop going soo heavy with the ar. He should be pushed hard in camp though especially if we bring in a back. 
One of the most impressive things about mci is his uptake. He went from no where near ready for fb/teams reps to a good contributor in year 1. Don’t see that much improvement in season often. 
 

I fully expect this draft to be a big bolster to our depth and other teams.  I think we could see 3-4 guys making the ar out of this years draft being the norm, and contributing not just sitting. 

 

We need to make MCI into a multi role hybrid guy..a bigger Drury type...but be  important on jumbo packages...like I said..I'd like to see him used at times like a true TE...like they say you can't teach/coach athleticism and he's prob top 3 on our team in regards to athleticism...they will find his role

BO to me seems to be morphing his game a Lil from what I seen this offseason..I think we gonna see more quickness and explosion outta him..coming in more lean

[Noeller]

15 minutes ago, Booch said:

We need to make MCI into a multi role hybrid guy..a bigger Drury type...but be  important on jumbo packages...like I said..I'd like to see him used at times like a true TE...like they say you can't teach/coach athleticism and he's prob top 3 on our team in regards to athleticism...they will find his role

BO to me seems to be morphing his game a Lil from what I seen this offseason..I think we gonna see more quickness and explosion outta him..coming in more lean

Picture of BO from TSN Media Day this week, he looked like he'd lost about 40lbs. I wasn't sure if it was just Photoshop or if he actually did lose a pile of weight. He still looks jacked, just not as thick as he was.

[17to85]

3 hours ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

He was right though.  Kevin Glenn was a path to nowhere.  Guy played 18 seasons in the CFL with almost every franchise and never won a Grey Cup, even as a backup.  He won 4 playoff games in his whole career.  He only made it to 2 Grey Cups and started 1.  That is borderline impossible in a 8/9 team league.

Can **** on him for not being able to identify/develop a QB but the Kevin Glenn decision was necessary at the time for the franchise.

He left the team worse off at the qb position. I mean yes Glenn maybe wouldn't take the team to the promised land... but he was better than the **** jelly threw out there. Toss Glenn when you have a replacement, not before.

[Noeller]

Kelly is one level of *******, but imagine the level of thinking what he did to fans and media was good....

[Booch]

53 minutes ago, Noeller said:

Picture of BO from TSN Media Day this week, he looked like he'd lost about 40lbs. I wasn't sure if it was just Photoshop or if he actually did lose a pile of weight. He still looks jacked, just not as thick as he was.

Yes was a concerted effort to lean down...still big and.poweful but more explosive and some elusiveness to him...not all about battering ram style..as that wasn't gonna.be sustainable

[wbbfan]

2 hours ago, Booch said:

We need to make MCI into a multi role hybrid guy..a bigger Drury type...but be  important on jumbo packages...like I said..I'd like to see him used at times like a true TE...like they say you can't teach/coach athleticism and he's prob top 3 on our team in regards to athleticism...they will find his role

BO to me seems to be morphing his game a Lil from what I seen this offseason..I think we gonna see more quickness and explosion outta him..coming in more lean

That should be the goal. A Swiss Army knife who can play some wr/te, catch out of the back field, run and fill all the blocking roles. He’s got the measurables, the work ethic, character, and the head for it imo. He needs reps and polish running with the ball running routes and catching. He may not need to be a 1k rusher, but a 400-500 rusher and catcher would be great. 
 

Id be in favour of that, a bit more sustainable long term. 
 

Mci is one of the guys I’m most looking forward to this camp. The 4 top picks from last year all are poised to take big steps. Mci, big Kev, Wallace and Samson (kind of the forgotten man in that group)

I don’t normally do camp posts but I might this year specifically on a couple guys including those 4. 

1 hour ago, Booch said:

Yes was a concerted effort to lean down...still big and.poweful but more explosive and some elusiveness to him...not all about battering ram style..as that wasn't gonna.be sustainable

He was a big guy top to bottom, but big square shoulders really don’t benefit RBs like big thick legs do.  

[HardCoreBlue]

1 hour ago, Noeller said:

Kelly is one level of *******, but imagine the level of thinking what he did to fans and media was good....

He was a doofus who thought he was clever. Straight arming fans and the media was not memorable. It was maddening, frustrating and very confusing.

[Fatty Liver]

6 hours ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

IMO MCI isn't in the same realm as a guy like Yazbeck as a tailback.  A lot of people put stock into the system Yazbeck was in at Western, but his backfield mate Keon Edwards who had 3000 yards career rushing going into last year 7+ yards a carry was a 5 yard a carry guy last year while Yazbeck was 10.  There's something special there.  

Even a guy like Knight is a bit of an enigma but there's definitely teams that have been following him for 3-4 years that see a ton of talent there and don't care too much about the combine/NFL talk.  If anything the testing numbers probably solidify him as a CFLer.  And he's probably the most reliable receiver of the tailback in this draft and that carries a lot for the role of a running back in this era.  

Think MCI could be a nice special teams, H-back type guy in the passing game.  Kind of what we mostly needed that Augustine roster spot to be over the years, way more raw physicality there to develop on special teams.  Don't really see him being a significant option carrying the ball.  Certainly not a guy who is going to dictate draft strategy by being on the roster.  Obviously have potentially a more pressing need at receiver but for the most part think the Bombers can go best player available with an eye to some spots where the Canadian depth is aged. 

To me with a Canadian starting at running back and potentially wanting to use 3 Americans on OL having more of that Harris/Oliviera, younger Augustine type combo where you have a guy that can slot in and produce if Brady needs to miss 2-3 games with minimal roster disruption.  Wouldn't force the pick, but the guys are on the board who could offer that.  Other alternative is to be ready to swap a Canadian in at receiver for an American which is also something that can be achieved by grabbing a couple nice pieces/prospects out of this draft IMO. 

Then you have another guy in the MCI mould who are crazy athletes with minimal tailback reps like Oshinubi.  That guy needs a year or two to be a player in a CFL offense but can play special teams right away on sheer athleticism. 

I wouldn't be surprised to see a bunch of top 3 round picks from last year and 2023 not make their teams this year due to the strength of this rookie class.  MCI is a guy that could be on that list depending on who we draft at receiver/RB and special teams with the DB/LB class.  There's going to be a lot of good competition for the Canadian roster spots around the league.

I like this idea, Yazbeck looks good.  Bombers have been very lucky with BO's health, he hasn't suffered a serious injury since his rookie season, not sure how long that luck will hold out as it's inevitable a physical RB will break down.  Bring in another Natl. RB to lighten his load and diversify and expand the running game seems like a change in direction no other team could execute or would expect to defend against.

 

[SpeedFlex27]

10 hours ago, Booch said:

Yes was a concerted effort to lean down...still big and.poweful but more explosive and some elusiveness to him...not all about battering ram style..as that wasn't gonna.be sustainable

He trains underwater in a pool carrying a weight. He can hold his breath for nearly 5 minutes. I think he felt as he ages he has to change things up. Apparently last off season he bulked up which led to early season injuries. This off season he wants to build up his stamina.

[rebusrankin]

The Brady bobblehead for season ticket holders is pretty sweet.

[GCn20]

15 hours ago, Noeller said:

Kelly is one level of *******, but imagine the level of thinking what he did to fans and media was good....

Kelly jumped the shark on the first day when he cut Glenn and told everyone it was because that is what they wanted so that's why he did it. If a GM got rid of a QB every time fans thought it would be a good idea, no QB would ever make it out of their rookie season.

[Mark H.]

21 hours ago, Goalie said:

Guess I’m in the minority but I enjoyed Kelly as coach. 

 

[TBURGESS]

https://www.inoreader.com/article/3a9c6e77d68f218e-qb1-money-cfls-highest-paid-quarterbacks-for-the-2025-season

1) Nathan Rourke, B.C. Lions (N)

Hard money: $624,200
Maximum value: $624,200

The 26-year-old blew up the CFL QB market when he signed back with B.C. last August. At the time, Rourke inked a three-year pact for $749,200 in hard money in 2025, including $200,000 in marketing money, which does not count against the league’s salary cap.

That structure from late last summer would have lowered his salary cap hit to $549,200 in 2025. After reworking his deal, he’s scheduled to earn $624,200 in hard money with $200,000 in marketing. Rourke’s salary cap number for this season checks in at $424,200.

2) Chad Kelly, Toronto Argonauts (A)

Hard money: $615,000
Maximum value: $615,000

The 31-year-old quietly reworked his contract for 2025 this offseason. He received a $250,000 signing bonus and his deal includes $125,000 in marketing money. That lowers Kelly’s salary cap hit to $490,000 this year.

3) Zach Collaros, Winnipeg Blue Bombers (A)

Hard money: $600,000
Maximum value: $600,000

The 36-year-old collected a $100,000 offseason roster bonus on January 15. He has a $500,000 base salary with $250,000 guaranteed. Collaros enters 2025 in the final season of his three-year contract signed in October 2022.

[17to85]

Which of those 3 will be the biggest drain on the team compared to the amount of cap they eat up... TBD. Be between Rourke and collaros IMO.

[TBURGESS]

It would be Collaros at a cap amount of $600K.