2026 Main Training Camp - News & Views

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

I'm pretty sure Vibert will be dressed as 6th.  Daniels means we don't have to fret about a 7th.

Regardless of whether they go with a 3 Import O-line or not, they have to keep the pipeline of Natl. O-linemen flowing as they're too expensive to buy off the shelf when needed.  They hit a danger point last season with only Vibert in reserve, they should ideally have 2 in development pushing for jobs especially as Neuf ages out.  Expect Cline to show up sometime this year and sounds like Giovanni Manu is perhaps running out of opportunities in the NFL, so may see him as well.

[blue_gold_84]

[gobombersgo]

[gobombersgo]

[Blue In BC]

Regardless of whether they go with a 3 Import O-line or not, they have to keep the pipeline of Natl. O-linemen flowing as they're too expensive to buy off the shelf when needed.  They hit a danger point last season with only Vibert in reserve, they should ideally have 2 in development pushing for jobs especially as Neuf ages out.  Expect Cline to show up sometime this year and sounds like Giovanni Manu is perhaps running out of opportunities in the NFL, so may see him as well.

Eli was a reserve in 2025 as well. He played in 6 OL sets but he was part of depth. Vibert spent more on the PR but was available if the need came up.

As it turns out we choose to rotate in an import LG in several games but we options.

[Blueforlife]

The coaches , (OShea} liked McPhee hes a vet came to camp in great shape and by giving him reps against top receivers they were able to determine early that he js not the guy.
Splitting reps all around just. Would have added doubt

Facts are presented above
Well said
Quick way to know what you got

What next man?  There is no next man.  We wasted a ton of camp on McGhee and I'm pretty sure the only backup plan is Vaval full-time at corner.  And he's not that great, yet, AND then we lose him as full-time returner.  Ouch.

I haven't heard anyone mention any other DB at all in camp reports.  Unless we are putting Allen or Ball at starting corner!!

KW might we be shopping for a legit vet DB right about now... I'd like to see Bonds return eventually, but he has his own year-long injury to heal up first.

There is an entire team of players in camp that are next man up
Turn the tin foil into an umbrella because the sky ain't falling
Yes veteran depth would be nice but let's let the next gen get a chance 1st

I doubt Ball will be starting at DB anytime soon, but it will sure be nice if we had a NAT DB for max-coverage sets who doesn't get reamed like Kelly did.  Ball could easily take that spot and see some decent (4-10 snaps a game?) action.

Surprising, actually, as I would have pegged Ball to be the NAT DB/LB on the bubble for termination.

Ball will develop this year imo and has a lot of promise, hard to say if can be a starter, I say need a year of seasoning

I'm pretty sure Vibert will be dressed as 6th.  Daniels means we don't have to fret about a 7th.

Facts

[Jesse]

Doesn't seem like a ton of great news from DT today:

Derek Taylor🏈
@DTonOB
Bombers camp Day 5. Bombers announce they're released rookie receiver Kenneth Womack.
Womack did not practice Wednesday (presumably injured).

Looks like Nic Demski is not participating today. He's dressed but no helmet.
I believe he got nicked in the second half of yesterday's practice and sat out a couple periods.

Adding to the Not Dressed list:
RET Trey Vaval
DT Cam Lawson
DT Tanner Schmekel

Gavin Cobb running in Demski's spot early in practice. Joey Corcoran up with the 1st team.

Riders announce they've signed Winnipegger Trae Tomlinson. The 5-foot-8 defensive back went undrafted in this year's Canadian Draft.

Pokey Wilson with the one-handed stab on a bit of a comeback route!

Not a lot of success in the padded pass rush drills for 1st-rounder Nuer Gatkuoth. Got swallowed up on one by Micah Vanterpool

A little extra-curricular anger after one rep between Kemari Munier-Bailey and Michael Mazzccua. All the other OL/DL jumped in immediately to break it up

Gatkuoth had a much better time in the reps against TEs (Dante Daniels and Michael Chris-Ike)

Ontaria Wilson getting checked out by the trainer. To me it looks like he's favouring his jaw/neck.

Gavin Cobb slid over into Wilson's spot at receiver and Christian Frederiksen jumped up into the first team.

____________________________________________________________________________

Ed Tait's reports:

Wallace dressed for every game last year and started 15 — as well as the Eastern Semi-Final — as he grabbed the left guard spot left vacant after Liam Dobson signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Over the winter he attacked his training, working out regularly with Neufeld. former Blue Bomber Chris Kolankowski, Willie Jefferson, Tanner Cadwallader and Tui Eli under the watchful eyes of Strength & Conditioning Coordinator Brayden Miller and Strength & Conditioning Assistant Liam Grace.

And with the help of his wife, his weight was down to the 327 mentioned above. Just for context, he started camp last year at 345 pounds and, he admitted, "it went up from there."

"They held me accountable and that really helped me," he added. "I owe it to them for really being on my *** throughout the offseason

https://www.bluebombers.com/2026/05/14/blue-bombers-training-camp-day-5/

3 THOUGHTS FROM DAY 5:

1 Nic Demski was at practice but a non-participant and with him taking a knee for the day Gavin Cobb slid into his slotback position. New offensive coordinator Tommy Condell clearly sees something in Cobb, the University of Manitoba product who is now entering his fourth professional season.

Cobb has been working with the starters at wide receiver and his versatility — he has also returned kicks — is valuable. The club does plan to start three Canadians in the receiving corps in Demski, Tommy Nield and some combination of Cobb, Kevens Clercius and Joey Corcoran. Also in camp is 2026 CFL Canadian Draft pick Josh Jack of St. Mary's.

We've also seen a ton of sets featuring Michael Chris-Ike and Dante Daniels at tight end and fullback.

2 Nuer Gatkuoth got more work today after watching a lot during his first full day as a Blue Bomber and you can see his quickness instantly. How he fits into a very deep defensive line group will be interesting. Among the newer DL guys who have taken turns jumping out through camp are Michael Fletcher and Arnold Young and Kydran Jenkins, Kemari Munier-Bailey and De'Shaan Dixon.

We wrote about Dixon

We wrote about Dixon earlier during rookie camp and he has been getting a ton of work with the defensive 1s up front opposite Willie Jefferson.

3 Elgersma opened the day with the second offensive unit, but Terry Wilson also had reps with that crew. Just a note to fans, too: don't read anything into reports on X — including by yours truly — about an interception here or there. All the QBs throw them in camp and it hardly sets off alarm bells unless they happen frequently and then in the two preseason games.

Head coach Mike O'Shea on the QBs:

"It's a good group. The room is skilled, they're qualified and they're good guys and they all have the ability to lead. We'll let the preseason games unfold and see where that takes us.

"Obviously, we don't need preseason games to say that Zach is a stud and then how they all sort out after that is... we wouldn't be doing them any favours if we determined on Day 5 of main camp where they all slotted."

https://www.bluebombers.com/2026/05/14/taits-take-blue-bombers-training-camp-day-5/

[Tecno]

So chillax.

Some people are forgetting how bad our DB corps was at times to start '24 and '25, because we didn't get adequate replacements.  At least this time we're cutting a guy early rather than hoping & praying he gets better.

[Tecno]

The McGhee thing just makes no sense. Why drop a guy that you deemed worthy to be playing with your starters in the 1st week? There was a video of MOS gushing about him too. 
I feel like maybe the success went to his head a little and something happened...said something to a teammate/whatever.
We know the whole FIFO thing

MOS really emphasized the FI thing in the video I think was the same day they released McGhee (i.e. already a done deal, or MOS would have already known about it).  I was wondering why he was talking so seriously about it for so long.

Could be McGhee had all the tools but was a locker room mismatch.  If so, really a bummer.  And if so, he'll get snatched up by another team that doesn't demand FIFO.

[dd]

MOS really emphasized the FI thing in the video I think was the same day they released McGhee (i.e. already a done deal, or MOS would have already known about it).  I was wondering why he was talking so seriously about it for so long.

Could be McGhee had all the tools but was a locker room mismatch.  If so, really a bummer.  And if so, he'll get snatched up by another team that doesn't demand FIFO.

I totally agree with the FIFO thing...guys who can't play for the sake of the team and their teammates will only be selfish and let you down when you need them the most. Get rid of them and don't look back, who cares if someone else picks him up, he'll be a locker room disruption there too, not worth the trouble, there's tons of football players who want to play and be good teammates. There's a reason he got punted out of lowly Ottawa...

[Blue In BC]

DB Battles was re-signed today  from retired list when Womack was released. THis may be a paper shuffle when a player has a minor injury and the team wants a full allowed roster for TC?

It might explain the number of players retiring early into TC across the league.

[ModAdmin]

Tait's Take | Blue Bombers Training Camp Day 5

Ed Tait
@EdTaitWFC

The Blue Bombers are one more day closer to the regular season after cranking out another day of training camp. Here are today's collection of notes, quotes and anecdotes in our latest edition of Tait's Takes...

It's impossible not to be impressed by the physical gifts of rookie Canadian quarterback Taylor Elgersma, given he is a towering 6-5 and a sturdy 240 pounds.

He can sling it and we've seen a ton of that through training camp.

Yet, what's equally impressive is hearing him in an interview. He's a straight from central casting quarterback who talks like a leader and acts like a leader.

That certainly came across in a session he did with the media after practice on Wednesday.

He was asked first by The Sun's Paul Friesen about the biggest eye-opener or surprise through the first few days of main camp.

"I don't think I'm necessarily shocked by anything," he said. "I'm just impressed with our organization and how much we structure everything around winning. We demand a lot out of our players and this organization does an outstanding job of putting winning at the forefront. That's very clear from the moment you walk in here and it's very clear from the moment the vets get here.

"The veteran leadership we have here is really strong. Just getting to work with those guys and see how they carry themselves in the building and out on the field every single day is something that has been awesome."

Elgersma's entire interview can be found here, and it gives a good snapshot of his maturity:

3 THOUGHTS FROM DAY 5:

1 Nic Demski was at practice but a non-participant and with him taking a knee for the day Gavin Cobb slid into his slotback position. New offensive coordinator Tommy Condell clearly sees something in Cobb, the University of Manitoba product who is now entering his fourth professional season.

Cobb has been working with the starters at wide receiver and his versatility — he has also returned kicks — is valuable. The club does plan to start three Canadians in the receiving corps in Demski, Tommy Nield and some combination of Cobb, Kevens Clercius and Joey Corcoran. Also in camp is 2026 CFL Canadian Draft pick Josh Jack of St. Mary's.

We've also seen a ton of sets featuring Michael Chris-Ike and Dante Daniels at tight end and fullback.

2 Nuer Gatkuoth got more work today after watching a lot during his first full day as a Blue Bomber and you can see his quickness instantly. How he fits into a very deep defensive line group will be interesting. Among the newer DL guys who have taken turns jumping out through camp are Michael Fletcher and Arnold Young and Kydran Jenkins, Kemari Munier-Bailey and De'Shaan Dixon.

We wrote about Dixon earlier during rookie camp and he has been getting a ton of work with the defensive 1s up front opposite Willie Jefferson.

3 Elgersma opened the day with the second offensive unit, but Terry Wilson also had reps with that crew. Just a note to fans, too: don't read anything into reports on X — including by yours truly — about an interception here or there. All the QBs throw them in camp and it hardly sets off alarm bells unless they happen frequently and then in the two preseason games.

Head coach Mike O'Shea on the QBs:

"It's a good group. The room is skilled, they're qualified and they're good guys and they all have the ability to lead. We'll let the preseason games unfold and see where that takes us.

"Obviously, we don't need preseason games to say that Zach is a stud and then how they all sort out after that is... we wouldn't be doing them any favours if we determined on Day 5 of main camp where they all slotted."

REFS IN THE HOUSE: The Blue Bombers practised Thursday with an officiating crew doing their thing. The CFL's new timing rules — the 35-second play clock automatically starting when the previous play is whistled dead — is something all teams are working through right now.

"The new clock operation, we have to have command over that before we take the field in our first regular season game," said O'Shea. "That will be paramount. I'm still working through how that's going to affect our situational play.

"After the three-minute warning (where the timing is the same previous), we know how to do that. we know how to operate. But in the meat of the game if you're behind or ahead, how does this really look and what are you doing.

"So, it's great to have (the officials) here. We should get another good compliment of guys here in a couple of days and then we'll try and run a full clock with scenarios and just try and learn. That's what we do — put the plays in, put them in a situation and then as coaches dissect it, look at the film, look at the clock timing and see where we're at.

"We learn as a staff," he added, "and the quarterbacks, especially, see what differences there are."

NEXT: Friday's practice session will go from 9:05 a.m. -12:10 p.m.

And for those who might want to come out on the long weekend, the practice schedule can always be found here.

We wrote about Dixon earlier during rookie camp and he has been getting a ton of work with the defensive 1s up front opposite Willie Jefferson.

3 Elgersma opened the day with the second offensive unit, but Terry Wilson also had reps with that crew. Just a note to fans, too: don't read anything into reports on X — including by yours truly — about an interception here or there. All the QBs throw them in camp and it hardly sets off alarm bells unless they happen frequently and then in the two preseason games.

Head coach Mike O'Shea on the QBs:

"It's a good group. The room is skilled, they're qualified and they're good guys and they all have the ability to lead. We'll let the preseason games unfold and see where that takes us.

"Obviously, we don't need preseason games to say that Zach is a stud and then how they all sort out after that is... we wouldn't be doing them any favours if we determined on Day 5 of main camp where they all slotted."

REFS IN THE HOUSE: The Blue Bombers practised Thursday with an officiating crew doing their thing. The CFL's new timing rules — the 35-second play clock automatically starting when the previous play is whistled dead — is something all teams are working through right now.

"The new clock operation, we have to have command over that before we take the field in our first regular season game," said O'Shea. "That will be paramount. I'm still working through how that's going to affect our situational play.

"After the three-minute warning (where the timing is the same previous), we know how to do that. we know how to operate. But in the meat of the game if you're behind or ahead, how does this really look and what are you doing.

"So, it's great to have (the officials) here. We should get another good compliment of guys here in a couple of days and then we'll try and run a full clock with scenarios and just try and learn. That's what we do — put the plays in, put them in a situation and then as coaches dissect it, look at the film, look at the clock timing and see where we're at.

"We learn as a staff," he added, "and the quarterbacks, especially, see what differences there are."

NEXT: Friday's practice session will go from 9:05 a.m. -12:10 p.m.

And for those who might want to come out on the long weekend, the practice schedule can always be found here.
https://forums.bluebombers.com/index.php?topic=57177.0

https://www.bluebombers.com/2026/05/14/taits-take-blue-bombers-training-camp-day-5/

[BIGBLUE204]

Some people are forgetting how bad our DB corps was at times to start '24 and '25, because we didn't get adequate replacements.  At least this time we're cutting a guy early rather than hoping & praying he gets better.

Every DB group in the world is going to look bad if the QB has 5+ seconds to throw.