[IMPORTANT: Make this 4 times longer with much more detail]
Don Landry CFL.ca As the 2025 season approaches, CFL.ca is here to catch you up with the 5 Things To Know series. Each article will look at key storylines facing each team this season, while examining off-season movement and where your team might stand in 2025. Not exactly status quo. As the Winnipeg Blue Bombers get ready to attempt to appear in a sixth straight Grey Cup Game, they will do it with a roster that has a fair bit of newness to it. Not that they do not have a good number of mainstays returning. Reigning Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian Brady Oliveira is in the lineup and so are quarterback Zach Collaros and defensive end Willie Jefferson , to name just three. And the Bombers will get another veteran star back in the lineup, as you will read, below. But there are definitely changes afoot for 2025. Here are five things to know about the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. RELATED » MMQB: Ranking the CFL’s top 3 cornerbacks » Who has the best hands in the CFL? » Top of the Depth Chart: Montreal Alouettes » Subscribe to the CFL’s official YouTube channel » Subscribe to the CFL’s newsletter for exclusive offers and league updates NO BIGGIE The Blue Bombers decided not to offer veteran middle linebacker Adam Bighill a contract for 2025, so the three-time winner of the Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award (twice while in Winnipeg) is no longer in Blue and Gold. And that’s a rather large change for the Winnipeg defence, considering that the 36-year-old was a fixture as a team leader in his six seasons with the Bombers. So what’s next? After Bighill suffered a season-ending injury, last September, the Blue Bombers turned to Tony Jones to take up the slack and he did just that, performing so well that Winnipeg made the decision to sign him to a two-year contract extension . The 29-year-old Jones will be the expected starter in the middle in 2025, although the Bombers did go out and sign ex-Argo Jonathan Jones, who showed, while in Toronto, that he could be deployed at either weak side or in the middle. THEY’RE GETTING A VERY BIG OFFENSIVE PIECE BACK The Bombers were dealt a crushing blow in game three of their 2024 season when two-time All-CFL receiver Dalton Schoen suffered a year-ending knee injury in a game against the BC Lions. Despite having pretty great weaponry elsewhere on offence, the Blue Bombers’ attack suffered in Schoen’s absence. Any offence would, when it loses a guy whose first two seasons saw him catch 141 passes for 2,663 yards and 26 touchdowns. Schoen signed an extension with Winnipeg this past off-season and should be completely healthy in time for training camp next month. If he returns to form the way most think he will, it would make Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros ‘ life so much more enjoyable. ONCE AGAIN, NO KENNY It’s a good thing that the Blue Bombers are getting Schoen back into the lineup in 2025 because they are going to have to get along without the sensational Kenny Lawler once again. After breaking through as one of the CFL’s most dominant receivers during his first two seasons in Winnipeg, Lawler first leapt to Edmonton as a free agent in 2022 before returning to Winnipeg a year later. After two more seasons with the Blue and Gold, the 30-year-old jumped in free agency again, this time to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. So the Blue Bombers will be needing to fill Lawler’s spot — as well as the one left when 1,000-yard receiver Ontaria Wilson signed with the NFL’s New York Jets — as they head into the 2025 campaign. They’ll also need to replace Drew Wolitarsky , who was released by the Bombers , ultimately signing in Hamilton. Winnipeg has prepared for the changes by signing a trio of veteran receivers in free agency; Reggie White Jr. (ex of Montreal), Jerreth Sterns (Saskatchewan) and Dillon Mitchell (Edmonton). If those changes aren’t enough for ya, the Bombers also have a new offensive coordinator in place, as Jason Hogan takes over for Buck Pierce, now the head coach of the BC Lions. THE RETURN GAME GETS A BIG BOOST Last season left a fair bit to be desired when it came to the Winnipeg return game. The Bombers had moved on from star returner Janarion Grant in free agency, and he joined the Toronto Argonauts, where the veteran proved he was still in his prime, winning the Most Outstanding Special Teams Player award with Toronto. Winnipeg, meanwhile, suffered a sharp drop in productivity in their own return game. For 2025, that has been remedied. The Bombers signed free agent returner and backup running back Peyton Logan to a deal, and the 26-year-old can be locked in as the team’s return man for the upcoming season. Logan comes off a productive season with the Calgary Stampeders, with 539 punt return yards (including a 104-yard touchdown return) and 635 more yards on kickoffs in 2024. It’s safe to say that Winnipeg’s woes in the return game should be over now. BIG CHANGES IN THE SECONDARY In 2025, the Bombers’ pass defence will be without two familiar faces. One of them, Tyrell Ford , left for Edmonton in free agency while the other, Brandon Alexander , remains a free agent. In choosing to part ways with Alexander, Winnipeg says goodbye to a player who served them very, very well over seven seasons, becoming a mainstay at the free safety position and earning All-CFL honours in 2021 as well as a West Division All-CFL nod in 2023. Ford, named an All-CFL corner last season after pulling down seven interceptions and finishing tied for second in knockdowns with 12, leaves another sizeable hole for the Bombers to fill and they have a bevy of newcomers slated to vie for the job when camp opens next month. Get all the top stories from across the league delivered to your inbox.
