The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have the most veteran-laden team in the CFL but that could start to change this off-season as some players are mulling retirement.
“There’s always going to be changes, it’s the way it is. We say this every single year, every coach in pro sport says it every single year. Some guys can’t do it again, some guys don’t want to do it again here, and a lot of guys will want to be back but still have to try and fit that into a cap situation,” head coach Mike O’Shea told the local media on Monday.
“We need to get together and get a strategy and have our roster meetings, which we haven’t had yet, and figure out how we want to proceed.”
O’Shea declined to name which veterans are leaning towards moving on from football, saying only that it’s “maybe a couple” of players. He didn’t rule out trying to talk them out of retirement but made it clear the team will ultimately accept whatever they decide. He also reminded the media that he never formally retired following his 16-year playing career in the CFL, instead being unceremoniously released.
“Everybody’s different. Ultimately, after you lose, if you really want to be the organization that you say you are, you’ve gotta take a look at where the player is coming from, too. You have to help put them first and sometimes that’s hard to do but you have to do it that way. If you know that they’re making a decision for good reasons and everything like that, then you’ve gotta support them,” said O’Shea.
“Anybody that’s played a decent length of time, (retiring) is going to be tough, that’s the bottom line. There’s always a void left. I think that’s why so many guys that are done (with football) head to team or service-oriented jobs. Fire, police, those kinds of things where there’s a group relying on you. I think guys that play a while need that.”
Among Winnipeg’s players who will be at or over the age of 35 by the start of next season are offensive tackle Stanley Bryant (38), long snapper Mike Benson (37), quarterback Zach Collaros (35), linebacker Adam Bighill (35), offensive guard Patrick Neufeld (35), and special teams ace Mike Miller (35). Bryant, Neufeld, and Miller aren’t under contract for 2024, while Benson, Collaros, and Bighill are.
O’Shea clearly likes the veteran nature of his team and disagrees with those who suggest the roster has gotten too long in the tooth. Bryant, who hasn’t spoken to the media since the Grey Cup, was named a West Division all-star this past season, as were Collaros and Neufeld. Other players over the age of 30 to make the all-star list were offensive tackle Jermarcus Hardrick and defensive end Willie Jefferson.
“Whenever they run the numbers and they say we’re the oldest team, it’s by a year or something. I don’t know, does that matter? You still look at some of the guys that are over 30 for us and they produce at such a high level, so I think it’s a case-by-case basis,” he said. “I don’t look at our roster right now and look down the list and say, ‘Yeah, here’s a couple of guys that have aged out.’ They’re just too good and they work too well together. You need that experience.”
Click here for a full list of Winnipeg’s pending free agents.
