WINNIPEG — The end of the 2026 season could mark the end of an era for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. After a 33-23 loss to the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL’s East Division final on Saturday, changes are inevitable and there could be big ones for Winnipeg’s offence. Quarterback Zach Collaros got teary when speaking about what could come next at the team’s end-of-season availabilities on Sunday. “I’ve thought about my future more and more as I’ve gotten older, obviously,” said the 38-year-old American. “I’ve always kind of had it in the back of my head.” Collaros has played seven seasons with the Blue Bombers and been in the CFL for 14. He said he probably won’t make a decision about whether or not he’s ready to retire until January. “A career’s a career … I don’t really care about the player aspect of it,” he said. “But just being able to be part of this organization, being around the people that I’ve been able to be around, I’ll never forget it. It’s been just such an amazing journey and an amazing blessing to be in this community.” Collaros revealed on Sunday that talks on a contract extension began early in the season, but were derailed when he hurt his neck in a road win against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on July 5. He said there have not been any discussions since. “I would have thought I was going to play another couple of years, so everything changes day-to-day and things happen and we’ll see,” he said. The No. 1 QB passed for 2,989 yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions over the regular season. He missed six games with injuries, then sat out the East Division semifinal win over the Toronto Argonauts after picking up a rib injury on Oct. 23 and was a game-time decision for the final against the Alouettes. Collaros has been the face of the franchise since joining the Bombers in a trade with Toronto in October 2019. He guided Winnipeg to five consecutive Grey Cup games, capturing the championship in 2019 and 2021, then losing the next three. The team has been lucky and privileged to have the quarterback as their leader, said running back Brady Oliveira. “I came here in 2019, direct as a rookie playing for my hometown, literally a dream come true,” Oliveira said. “This guy gets traded here and the drought is ended. We win a Grey Cup in 2019 and he’s a massive part of it. “And from then on there, the guy’s won us so many football games. Like, the guy is Bomber royalty forever.” But Winnipeg has regressed since those championship appearances, going 10-8 last year and losing the East semifinal to Montreal as the crossover team. This year ended with a 9-9 record and another crossover journey. Collaros isn’t the Winnpeg’s only veteran considering retirement. Offensive linemen Stanley Bryant and Patrick Neufeld don’t have contracts for next season and are thinking about hanging up their helmets. “The body always plays a part,” said Bryant, who’s been named the league’s top offensive lineman four times in his 16-year career. “Mentally, I’m fine, but the body is a key factor.” Neufeld has played 13 of his 15 CFL seasons with the Bombers and is the team’s longest-tenured player. As he evaluates his options, he’s thinking of his three kids, including twins born early this summer and his three-year-old daughter. “Just time, man. The toll this game takes on your body,” Neufeld said when asked what’s changed this year. “I’m not getting any younger and things hurt more. “With having three young kids, it changes things a lot. I just want to make sure I do what’s best for them.” If some of the team’s veterans — including Collaros, Bryant and Neufeld — do opt for retirement, Oliveira is still optimistic about the future. “Maybe an end of an era for maybe a little bit of my career, because they’ve been a huge part of it,” he said. ”But now I just have a new fresh start for my career. “I’ll just (think), ‘Let’s find a way to do it again.’ I believe in this organization, I trust this organization.” Changes don’t have to be massive, he added. “It’s not going to be a thing where it’s a rebuild per se. Like, it can’t be,” Oliveira said. “We still have great guys in this locker room that are really good football players and really good human beings that can win games for us, so I think we’ll be just fine.” One player who wants to return is defensive end Willie Jefferson. The 35-year-old American felt he had a good season this year and wants to come back to Winnipeg for an eighth campaign with the Bombers — and 13th in the CFL. “I hope other guys don’t rush into make a decision (on their futures),” Jefferson said. “Enjoy the offseason, enjoy this next couple of days we have together with the 2026 Bomber team. And whatever 2027 holds, I hope the best for everybody.” Judy Owen, The Canadian Press
