2026 Main Training Camp - News & Views

[ModAdmin]

The season seriously starts tomorrow, May 10th.

Some important decisions to be made in the coming week and beyond...

May 9 at 11:59 p.m. (local) – Rosters reduced to 85 players, excluding non-counters.

May 10 – Training camps open. – MAIN CAMP OPENS
Practice: 9:00 a.m. -11:40 a.m.

May 12 at 11:59 p.m. (local) – Rosters reduced to 75 players, excluding non-counters.

Keep up-to-date on all the news and your views here!

[ModAdmin]

Training Camp '26 Preview

Ed Tait
@EdTaitWFC

A snapshot from the last time we saw the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in real action...

There was Brady Oliveira down on one knee, tears welling in his eyes and frustration and anger evident on his face as he took in the scene at McGill Stadium following a loss to the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League's Eastern Semi-Final.

That moment captured so much, as it represented the end of the Blue Bombers run of five straight Grey Cup appearances that included two championships and marked the club's earliest exit from the playoffs since 2017. That loss, in essence, also encapsulated the inconsistency of the entire 2025 season.

All of that — the pain of a dramatic stumble in a campaign in which Winnipeg hosted the 2025 Grey Cup — is officially put in the rear-view mirror Sunday morning with the opening of main training camp.

And while the wound still stings for some, that loss in Montreal last November did serve as a stimulus to some significant change to the roster and to Mike O'Shea's coaching staff over the winter.

Hope springs eternal, as the saying goes, and as the curtain lifts on camp there is the belief in Bomberland this team can shake off last year's 10-8/fourth in the West Division finish and return to elite status.

Here are five camp storylines to keep an eye on as camp opens, in no particular order...

NEW BLOOD = NEW HOPE

The Blue Bombers aggressively attacked CFL free agency in the winter, adding the likes of offensive tackle Jarell Broxton, defensive lineman Jake Ceresna, receivers Tim White and Tommy Nield, cornerback Jonathan Moxey and linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox.

The changes instantly upgrade the squad on both sides of the line of scrimmage, add some juice to the receiving corps and bring more veteran help to a defence which already allowed the fewest points against in 2025 (21.4).

The expectation now is for them to not just quickly assimilate with their new team in training camp but instantly take on leadership roles within their own position groups. Oh, and kick some serious butt when the season starts, too.

THE CONDELL EFFECT

Winnipeg's offence struggled last year due to a number of factors, but that decline had started prior to 2025. Just three years ago the Blue Bombers ranked first in offence, rushing and second in passing but in 2024 fell to eighth in passing and last year sunk right to the bottom.

New offensive coordinator Tommy Condell comes with extensive experience as an offensive coordinator in this league — most recently with Ottawa — and former Blue Bombers receiver Lee Hull is now the team's new receivers coach with Jason Hogan returning now as the running backs tutor and Marty Costello leading the offensive line crew.

Condell will be the third offensive coordinator for the Blue Bombers in the last three years, and his fingerprints need to be all over the club's offensive rebuild. Adding Broxton, White and Nield to a crew that already included Nic Demski, Brady Oliveira and Pokey Wilson also means there is now an expectation the offence can return to being prolific.

FURTHER TO THE ABOVE

Let's not dance around things here: if the Blue Bombers are to be an offensive juggernaut they need Collaros to be elite again. Surrounding him with better offensive weapons and bringing in an OC he has worked with before in Condell are massive steps in making him comfortable in the attack.

And as much as there is the acknowledgement he turns 38 in August and his TD-interception differential dipped to 34:31 over the last two years after it being 90:34 from 2021-23, other veteran pivots have enjoyed resurgences over the last couple of years in Saskatchewan's Trevor Harris and Bo Levi Mitchell in Hamilton.

That kind of rebound is essential because as #8 goes, so go the Blue Bombers.

THE QB BULLPEN

Also worth repeating here because it's the reality: Collaros missed four starts and also didn't finish four other games. Now, say what you will about Chris Streveler's numbers and how it looked occasionally last year, but the Blue Bombers were 4-1 in games he started in place of Collaros.

That changes with Streveler having retired, along with Chase Artopoeus, who did dress for games last year but did not throw a pass in the regular season. That leaves Terry Wilson as the only other QB with CFL reps in tbe building, but there is hardly panic about the team's QB depth chart.

Bryce Perkins is a 29-year-old former UFL MVP who has experience with the Los Angeles Rams while Payton Thorne started at big-time schools Michigan State and Auburn before getting a look from the Cincinnati Bengals last year.

Still, the most intriguing of all is rookie Canadian Taylor Elgersma, who already flashed in rookie camp. He's big at 6-6, 235 pounds, and not only has a strong arm, but backs it with a comfort in the pocket that already seems to showcase excellent decision making.

Who lands where behind Collaros on the depth chart is going to be a fascinating storyline over the next few weeks.

HELP WANTED

Let's face it, as much as Blue Bombers coaches and management will insist there is competition at every spot on the depth chart — there has to be, after all — it's safe to say some players are absolute locks barring injury or some sort of nuclear catastrophe that puts our entire existence in peril.

Stanley Bryant is safe to move back into his place for the season. Ditto for returnees like Oliveira, Collaros, Demski, Evan Holm, Redha Kramdi and Deatrick Nichols and the newcomers like Broxton, Ceresna, Moxey, White and Nield.

That said, there are some starting spots on the depth chart that are seemingly wide open — including the boundary cornerback spot opposite Moxey, one defensive end job, the starting centre gig and a third Canadian starting receiver position alongside Demski and Nield.

What happens along the offensive line, meanwhile, could also be telling in terms of the ratio and the overall roster construction. A year ago the club tinkered with the idea of playing three Americans up front and the arrival of Broxton — coupled with the decision to move on from Chris Kolankowski at centre and the plethora of import talent in camp that can play guard, tackle and centre — means that is again in play.

Settle in, Blue Bombers faithful because the next few weeks of training camp before the opening of the season on June 5th in Calgary against the Stampeders should be filled with the usual plot twists and turns.

https://www.bluebombers.com/2026/05/09/training-camp-26-preview/?utm_source=braze&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=training_camp&utm_content=favourite_team_article_1_read_more

[gobombersgo]

The Bombers need to release around 11 players by midnight but the number maybe less than that.

We might see players being placed on the injured vet list, suspended or retired lists to free up spots for guys the team still want to look at.

Lane Novak is already on the injured vet list.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

[gobombersgo]

[DCM]

Darrin Bauming
Jovan Santos-Knox needed assistance to the locker room as he appeared to injure his leg.
The former #Bombers linebacker is back in Winnipeg after six seasons in EDM, HAM, and OTT. #Bombers

https://x.com/i/status/2053497856275964218