The Winnipeg Blue Bombers remain fully committed to Zach Collaros as they have no plans to restructure his contract this offseason.
The 37-year-old threw for 3,048 yards, 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 2025, marking the second year in a row that his numbers were insignificant compared to the league's other top quarterbacks. Collaros is currently the third highest paid passer in the CFL.however, he has been outplayed by many defensemen who make less than him, including Vernon Adams Jr., Trevor Harris, Bo Levi Mitchell and Davis Alexander.
With the Steubenville, Ohio native set to make around $600,000 again in 2026, it's safe to assume the Blue Bombers will try to renegotiate to free up salary cap space. Instead, they are not looking to take money away from Collaros, but instead provide him with more support to help him succeed.
“We were never inclined to renegotiate. Zach earned his contract, he led us to all these Gray Cups playing at a high level,” general manager Kyle Walters said Wednesday.
“We need to better surround him with better support because you saw flashes again this year where he's still a guy that can be done away with. We need to surround him with better support.”
The Blue Bombers were unable to retain arguably their most important offensive weapon in free agency as Kenny Lawler left for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Pomona, California native had the best year of his Steeltown career, catching 86 passes for 1,443 yards and 14 touchdowns and earning All-CFL honors.
Lawler said in September that the team did not make a formal offer until the day before free agency began. and that the team had only contacted his agent twice before. Walters at least partially denied this when speaking to the media, saying that he and Lawler's agent maintained a much closer relationship than the recipient described.
“Kenny is a very emotional young man, which makes him a really good player on the football field. I work with an agent on these types of issues, so it wasn't the day before free agency (when we made our first offer). We had a lot of conversations,” Walters said.
“He, his agent and I talked non-stop about it because, as well as the player contract, we were dealing with other issues that needed to be sorted out before the new year, to be honest. I don't want to get into that kind of stuff, but there were discussions between me and the agent even during the season to try to get ahead of what was coming next.”
Lawler was also upset that the team signed Dillon Mitchell before making him an offer, which made him feel disrespected. The signing was a complete bust, as Mitchell had just 19 receptions for 193 yards and one touchdown in nine starts. He was a healthy star in the team's remaining nine regular-season games.
“I don't want to go into detail, but Dillon struggled. It is what it is,” Walters said. “He struggled with productivity and achieving goals and everything.”
The team was also without two-time All-CFL wide receiver Dalton Schoen for most of the year as he tore his ACL in July, marking the second year in a row he has been injured. He tried to return to the lineup and bounce back from injury in the Labor Day Classic, but lost. ultimately was unable to remain in the lineup.
It remains unclear whether Shen was who is a pending free agentwill be offered a new contract to return for a fifth season in Bomberland.
“For all the players that are ending the year with injuries, we will need to get more medical reports and talk to our coaches and doctors before any decisions are made on those guys,” Walters said.
Besides the player personnel, you can bet Collaros needs more support from the team's coaching staff. The veteran quarterback appeared to clash with first-time offensive coordinator Jason Hogan, pointing out that the team was playing in training camps that never took place during the regular season.
Head coach Mike O'Shea refused to discuss the status of his assistants while speaking with the media on Tuesday, leaving Hogan's status for 2026 unclear.
However, it appears that Collaros will remain the team's quarterback next year at the same price as always, although it remains to be seen whether the club will get its money's worth.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers finished fourth in the West Division standings in 2025 with a 10–8 record, qualifying for the playoffs as a crossover team before losing in the East semi-finals to the Montreal Alouettes. Zach Collaros threw for 3,048 yards, 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 13 regular-season games while going 6-7 as a starter.
The Blue Bombers ranked fifth in net offense, third in net defense and eighth with a minus-eleven turnover margin. The club's leading rusher was Brady Oliveira with 1,163 yards, the leading receiver was Nick Demski with 1,001 yards, and the leading tackler was Tony Jones with 104 tackles. Winnipeg ranked first in attendance with an average attendance of 32,343, up 3.7 per cent from the previous year.
