1st & 10 | The Complete Blue Bombers QB Picture

[markf]

I don't think they think in such black and white terms as "not good enough to play QB in a game". Sometimes you may have to keep a QB on the roster that your not thrilled with in terms of getting real game reps, because there is not much better available, or the available options are too expensive.

Thanks....Very Good explanation.  Makes sense.

 I

[dd]

Wilson is exactly = to Dom Davis, move on already

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

I don't think they think in such black and white terms as "not good enough to play QB in a game". They assess their skills as a potential starter, and my guess is that if Zach is currently a B to B+, and Strev was a C, then Wilson was grading out as a C-. Not great. But not necessarily worse than any other QB on the planet either. Plus factor in that he already knows the offence to some extent, he's good at short yardage, and he may be a high character guy as well. So, before you let him go, you need to find someone who either grades higher right now, or shows the potential to surpass him. In the latter situation, where there is just future potential, my guess is they will keep a QB like that on the PR. In TC, if anyone shows better than Wilson, or a lot more potential that Wilson, Wilson may be cut. But its not a given until they assess the other QBs. And its not a given that whoever is kept instead of Wilson is all that great either, and may not be seen as ready to start in a game either. Sometimes you may have to keep a QB on the roster that your not thrilled with in terms of getting real game reps, because there is not much better available, or the available options are too expensive.

I don't believe for a second they spent any time evaluating QB skills last TC, the pecking order was pre-determined before anyone showed up for TC. Once they decided to re-sign Strev despite his iffy injury status it was a given he was coming in as the #2, which might have been a condition his agent insisted upon in his contract negotiations. 

Many argued at the time this was a mistake as Strev has never shown the ability needed to progress beyond the "Go Go Gadget" QB he's always been. The ample playing time he received in 2025 proved his detractors right.  Valuable game time that could have been used to evaluate the future of the QB position was wasted on a temporary fix and they now find themselves right back where they started, with Zach one year older and that much closer to the end of the line.

[bunker]

I don't believe for a second they spent any time evaluating QB skills last TC, the pecking order was pre-determined before anyone showed up for TC. Once they decided to re-sign Strev despite his iffy injury status it was a given he was coming in as the #2, which might have been a condition his agent insisted upon in his contract negotiations. 

Many argued at the time this was a mistake as Strev has never shown the ability needed to progress beyond the "Go Go Gadget" QB he's always been. The ample playing time he received in 2025 proved his detractors right.  Valuable game time that could have been used to evaluate the future of the QB position was wasted on a temporary fix and they now find themselves right back were they started, with Zach one year older and that much closer to the end of the line.

They were coming off a Grey Cup appearance, and expected to be back in it. They had a veteran team, and were focused on winning "now" in a year the Grey Cup was in Winnipeg. Evaluating developmental QBs like Artopoeus for a few years down the road was not their priority I would guess. I was never wild about bringing Strev back as the #2, but the question is what would you have done differently? I can't recall all the QBs who were available in free agency last off season, but Maier signed for a lot of money, and signing him would have hamstrung as at other areas in the roster. Strev came relatively cheap. Probably an emotional attachment to him also on the part of the bombers, which is not ideal if your goal is to win but still understandable.

[Blueforlife]

Nobody can say with certainty what Wilson is.  He has the tools and doesn't have enough reps for us to evaluate his play.  I was pretty high on him but scaled back my expectations this year when he didn't get reps and threw ducks in practice.  I would prefer we roll the dice on a prospect rather than bringing in a mediocre option.  It's a hard decision, do we groom the next QB slowly to possibly hit a home run or is an average guy with experience a better bridge for us?

I would like a mobile guy with a cannon.  Wilson is that but so few can read a D and avoid turnovers.  A tough spot for us and no easy answers.

It looks like we will bring in a few guys and hope one pops!

[markf]

There really aren't a lot of people who can play quarterback...

It has to be the toughest position in team sports.

Even the NFL has quite a few teams struggling to find a good quarterback. Vikings today their qb had about ten yards passing. Total.

I guess it's trite to say this but....

It's a bit hard to criticize the Bombers for not yet finding someone to take over after Zach retires. And they found Brown, who showed promise.

And We were very lucky to get Zach. Fix the o line... and with Condell.... Things will be good.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

They were coming off a Grey Cup appearance, and expected to be back in it. They had a veteran team, and were focused on winning "now" in a year the Grey Cup was in Winnipeg. Evaluating developmental QBs like Artopoeus for a few years down the road was not their priority I would guess. I was never wild about bringing Strev back as the #2, but the question is what would you have done differently? I can't recall all the QBs who were available in free agency last off season, but Maier signed for a lot of money, and signing him would have hamstrung as at other areas in the roster. Strev came relatively cheap. Probably an emotional attachment to him also on the part of the bombers, which is not ideal if your goal is to win but still understandable.

I really didn't expect them to make an appearance in the GC in Wpg. last season based on the minimal changes made to the roster prior to the season.  The previous 2 seasons showed they were no longer the league's best team, and yet they did little to counteract the the rise of superior teams in the East Division. They did not comprehended the significance of standing pat and last season the West finally caught up with them and shoved them down into 4th place.  So IMO the writing was already on the wall and they should have invested more time exploring multiple QB options until they found something that showed promise.  Don't know how this coming season will go, but have little faith Zach is going to regain his outstanding form of yesteryear, so they might as well explore their QB options thoroughly if they're struggling to win games again.

[Tecno]

The previous 2 seasons showed they were no longer the league's best team, and yet they did little to counteract the the rise of superior teams in the East Division. They did not comprehended the significance of standing pat and last season the West finally caught up with them and shoved them down into 4th place.

Ya, '24 was the year of the East.  And ya, '25 saw the rise of the West.  The latter is far more disturbing in its impact on us.  All 3 W teams that beat us are legit now.  The W is going back to the way it was before '19.

Life in '26 is going to be tough.

[Blue In BC]

Nobody can say with certainty what Wilson is.  He has the tools and doesn't have enough reps for us to evaluate his play.  I was pretty high on him but scaled back my expectations this year when he didn't get reps and threw ducks in practice.  I would prefer we roll the dice on a prospect rather than bringing in a mediocre option.  It's a hard decision, do we groom the next QB slowly to possibly hit a home run or is an average guy with experience a better bridge for us?

I would like a mobile guy with a cannon.  Wilson is that but so few can read a D and avoid turnovers.  A tough spot for us and no easy answers.

It looks like we will bring in a few guys and hope one pops!

QB's often have a very long development curve. Some look better in practice than in live game situations. Regardless, it's true we don't know much until we see them in game action with the game on the line.

The coaches will have a fuller assessment on Wilson than we do. That's more than just success in any practice sessions. How cerebral is a candidate and how quickly does he learn for example. Having some athleticism and arm strength are valuable assets but it takes more than that to succeed.

Wilson has a small advantage at the moment after being with the team for 2 seasons. At worst he might be pencilled in as the SY QB. At best he may be the best option as our # 2 QB going into TC.

Neither of those are giant steps forward and that's what we need for a 3rd year candidate.

I'm sure we'll look at additional QB's and have at least 1 more in TC. How this shakes out, I have no idea. The best I can come up with is that Wilson needs to show he's improving and may have a CFL future.

Some have high hopes for Perkins ( including me ) but we think that for most QB's when they get signed.

[Jesse]

QB's often have a very long development curve.

Do they though?

Of the very best QBs that I've seen over the past 20+ years watching the CFL, they usually look pretty good as soon as they get an opportunity.

[Blue In BC]

Do they though?

Of the very best QBs that I've seen over the past 20+ years watching the CFL, they usually look pretty good as soon as they get an opportunity.

Generally yes. Calvillo, McManus and even Flutie did not have immediate success. We could argue that Harris and Fajardo are more recent examples of taking longer.

Some like Calvillo started immediately as a necessity in an expansion team ( in failed US expansion ). He then went to the TiCats and was eventually released before finding success in Montreal behind D. Allen.

McManus showed some talent before leaving Winnipeg before leaving for BC. I'd argue he didn't become a better than average QB until leaving for Edmonton. Real success came in Hamilton. In his 6th and last season in BC he had 19 TD's against 26 ints and 4655 yards. By the end of his 6th CFL season he was something like 55 TD's against 66 int's. That sounds like a long learning curve.

Success is based on having a good team around a QB to have a fighting chance of " looking good " at the start of his career. BLM had that during his time in Calgary.

There is a longer list of failures than successes at the QB league wide.


Pick a CFL team and google the QB's that have come and gone.

Who were the last Bomber QB's they found and developed to have success? Google past Bomber QB's over the last 20 years. The best were recycled from other teams

Seriously, the list of immediate success is a very short list IMO.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Do they though?

Of the very best QBs that I've seen over the past 20+ years watching the CFL, they usually look pretty good as soon as they get an opportunity.

Vernon Adams, showed some early spark but took forever to develop, his early career was a merry-go-round of teams discarding him, at one point Sask traded him to the Ti-Cats where he competed as a WR before being cut early in the season and returned to the Als where he started all over again following Jonhny Manziel.

Darian Durant was not the quickest learner either, he spent 3 full seasons as a backup before getting his chance to be the starter in 2009.

Times have changed but 20 years ago it was not unusual for QB's to develop 3-4 years before taking over.

[Jesse]

Vernon Adams, showed some early spark but took forever to develop, his early career was a merry-go-round of teams discarding him, at one point Sask traded him to the Ti-Cats where he competed as a WR before being cut early in the season returning to the Als where he started all over again following Jonhny Manziel.

Darian Durant was not the quickest learner either, he spent 3 full seasons as a backup before getting his chance to be the starter in 2009.

20 years ago it was not unusual for QB's to develop 3-4 years before taking over.

Rourke looked good as soon as he got his opportunity.

Vernon Adams took forever to find a home, but he had early success in his rookie season.

Trevor Harris didn't start until his 4th year, so good example of developing a guy, but looked competant when he stepped on the field in relief in each of his first three years. He never came on and looked like...Wilson.

Collaros was excellent right away. Created a bidding war the moment his initial 2 year deal with Toronto expired.

Bo Levi was excellent right away.

Dru Brown was excellent in relief in his 2nd and 3rd seasons when he was called on.

Chad Kelly was what he was right away.

Davis Alexander didn't take meanigful reps until his 3rd season. But again, when he did get on ther field in his rookie and sophomore years, he looked like he belonged.

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Just looking around the league right now. The starters looked like good prospects as soon as they got their opportunities. They didn't look awful for a couple years and then a light turned on. Calvillio, McManus, Durant, all the examples I'm seeing you guys bring up, all had some success on the field as soon as they stepped on it. They looked like good prospects that may have needed to switch teams before getting starting opportunities.

Guys like Wilson, who can't earn the right to get on the field and don't look good when they do after a couple of years...I can't think of any examples of guys like that suddenly becoming good.

[markf]

It might be that there are players that have come and gone that would be good if they had a better chance, and better coaching.

Several examples right now in the NFL of qb that did poorly for years, but kept
Getting chances... and succeeded.

Maybe if our guys weren't expected to be good right away, and if they had a bit better coaching, we'd have more decent quarterbacks.