Chris Streveler confirmed Sunday that he recently re-torn the ACL in his left knee. The injury will require surgery if he hopes to continue playing professional football.
“It's very heartbreaking. The crazy thing is you go through the whole season – never miss a practice, never miss a game – and in five games everything happens,” Streveler said. 3DownNation at Princess Auto Stadium on Sunday.
“What I'm grateful for is the support that I have around me with my family, my fiancée and my daughter. It would have been very difficult to go through this without them. I'm also extremely grateful to those guys in the locker room because they kept me up, it gave me a reason to get out of bed and come here and contribute in any way possible, even though I couldn't be there this week.”
At last year's Banjo Bowl, Streveler tore his ACL, MCL and partially torn ACL in his left knee. He completed his rehab early and was ready for spring training camp, even starting Winnipeg's regular-season opener against the BC Lions with Zach Collaros out due to suspension.
This time, the MCL and PCL were left intact, although Streveler will also require meniscus surgery. When last season ended, the dual-threat quarterback seemed poised to return to the field. On Sunday he seemed more unsure.
“We will do all this step by step,” he said. “I'm not going to make any decisions right now, this second. I just need to do this surgery and get better. I've shown that I can come back quickly from injuries and be productive, so we'll just take it one step at a time.”
Streveler is a pending free agent and his future in Winnipeg seems questionable at best. The 30-year-old has thrown nearly twice as many interceptions (eleven) as touchdowns (six) this season, and the Blue Bombers have three quarterbacks — Collaros, Terry Wilson and Chase Artopeus — already under contract through 2026.
Taylor Elgersma, who remains a free agent after being selected in the second round of the 2025 CFL Draft out of Wilfrid Laurier University, is also expected to sign with a team at some point unless he gets another opportunity in the NFL.
Streveler co-founded a coaching company out of his off-season home in Arizona, where he stays busy during the winter. While he noted that his coaching will not play a role in determining whether he continues to play, he is glad he has something to fall back on if his playing career ends.
“I'm grateful that I have something off the field because I've seen it over the years when guys get ready to leave and it's a scary feeling because they have nothing,” Streveler said.
“When I was out for a year and sitting at home after getting hurt against the New York Jets (in 2023), I thought, 'Okay, I need to start doing something. That way, when that day does come, it won't be as scary and you'll have something you're passionate about and can do.”
The Crystal Lake, Illinois native threw for 4,144 yards, 26 touchdowns and 31 interceptions in 66 CFL regular season games with the Blue Bombers, helping the team win the Gray Cup in 2019. He also rushed for 1,740 yards and 41 scores, nine of which came this year.
While he has yet to play for a CFL team other than Winnipeg, Streveler isn't ruling anything out for 2026.
“I'm a very open-minded person and I just like to see what comes my way, so I'll never rule anything out, I'll never put myself in a box. I'll just be open-minded, I'll continue to be myself and do the best I can in my rehab and in my life in general, and that will take me where I want to go,” he said.
“I've been through a lot of bad situations so I know how to deal with these things and this is no different, but when you do it it's important to have a strong support system around you so I'm grateful for that.”
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. Franchise quarterback 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.
