Zach will be our QB in 2027(?)

[Tecno]

What a shame if this is Zach's final year for him to rot while we trot out Dru to lose games for us.

For the last couple and the next few of these critical games Zach will ride pine?  I don't know about you guys/gals, but this makes no sense if this is Zach's last year.  We are really going to sit him and miss the playoffs completely, and then our best QB in decades retires on a whimper with 0 or maybe 1-2 final reg season games?  It makes no sense.

So the only conclusion I can draw is Zach is not retiring and WFC 100% fully plans to trot him on-field as #1 for '27.  So all of you worried about Zach's noggin and/or miffed at the losses due to QB underperformance better brace yourselves.  Because if everyone's plan is to have Zach retire in a couple of months, we ain't going about it the right way.

What you'd do if Zach was retiring is what SSK is doing with T.Harris.  Put him out there to battle every game -- try his best, let the chips fall where they may, and say you gave it a good shot and retire.  Not take him out of 2-5 games because he fell on himself on the rail and got dizzy.

And if you think "they're making sure he's healthy and fresh for the post-season" you're pretty nuts, because at the rate we're going there will be NO POST-SEASON.  He'll be healthy and fresh to watch CGY or SSK crossover to the east (to lose badly), while we look as bad as OTT & HAM.

Therefore, Zach will be our starter in '27.  Brace yourselves for a ton of starts-one-or-two then sits-out-three-to-four.  And the O gets no gel and Dru continues to win less than Strev ever did.  I hope that we manage to FA-snipe the best OL players in every spot, or '27 will see us get 6 wins total.

[Big Daddy]

I can't imagine Wade being satisfied with doing the exact same plan next year as what so miserably failed us this year.  Or Kyle for that matter.

Even O'Shea would have to realize that is just asking for another terrible season.

I really don't think that protecting Collaros from potentially devastating injury is an effort to keep him healthy for post-season or next year.  No way.  It's simply a matter like I have said in the game day thread - further head trauma when already recovering from a current concussion is way more likely to have life-altering consequences.

So it makes sense to avoid the higher risk scenarios, and live with the lower risk scenarios, from Zach's perspective.

The problem is when that stops making sense for the team as the player is increasingly likely to be injured and not available.  In 2019 we had nothing to lose bringing in Zach, and it paid off amazingly.  The next year we kept it rolling, and it paid off again.

I suspect (only my opinion, not based on facts known for his specific case) that the injuries/head trauma are catching up, he's more susceptible and therefore a seemingly slight bump while trying to tackle an INT results in yet another injury.

It is cumulative, and it sure seems like it is now at the point that, even if Zach was still the greatest qb when healthy, it's become too much risk of losing him and having no reasonable option after him.  Like you said - switching back and forth is no way to build consistency. 

It's not working anymore.

[TBURGESS]

Zach shouldn't have been the starter this year, let alone next year. He's part of the problems, not part of the solution. 

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Oh hell no, Zach has not lived up to his contract the last 2 seasons, nor has he taken a commensurate pay cut for non-delivery, as has almost every other veteran QB in the CFL that underperformed for  consecutive seasons.  He plays in half the games, ranks around 8th in QB efficiency and still pockets the 3rd highest salary in the CFL. Good on him for exploiting his legacy, but too much "In Zach We Trust" has landed the Bombers in last place in the West and sadly that's where his story ends.