End of an era?

Bombers want to write at least one more post-season chapter with veteran core

THE Winnipeg Blue Bombers are inching towards the end of an era.

There’s no guarantee their veteran core — names like Zach Collaros, Stanley Bryant, Patrick Neufeld and Willie Jefferson — will be back next year, or even if they’ll want to continue playing.

They’re all in their mid-to-late 30s, or in Bryant’s case, 40, and in the final year of their contracts. If the Bombers can’t save their season, significant changes could be coming, and getting younger would likely be part of the plan.

That adds another layer of importance to Friday’s regular-season finale in Vancouver. The Bombers (8-9) need to beat the B.C. Lions (10-7) to make the playoffs and write at least one more chapter with this group.

“It’d be good to keep this thing going for certain guys like that. Let’s go give us an opportunity to go compete at a Grey Cup this year,” said running back Brady Oliveira after Wednesday’s closed practice.

“The roster is always different every single year. But, obviously, there’s guys that you can’t even put into words how important they’ve been to this organization, and it’s for guys like that you just want to win one more with and celebrate with. That’s what creeps into my mind.”

No one has announced that this will be their final season. And according to Jefferson, the subject of next year’s plans doesn’t come up often.

“That’s not one of the questions that I ask. I don’t want to ask those type of questions to guys that are older,” said Jefferson.

“When I get asked those questions during the season, it’s like, ‘Why?’ It’s not something I was thinking about, it’s not something that I want to think about … With me being a veteran, being in this league as long as I have, I’ve learned that’s one of the questions that guys don’t want to think about during the season — especially when things are not going as well as you expect them to go.”

Never mind talking about the future, Neufeld said it’s difficult to even find time to think about it amid the daily grind of professional football.

“It’s a tough one because you’re so focused on this, especially where we’re at in the season,” said Neufeld.

“You don’t really have the capacity to think about anything other than this B.C. game. We’ve been treating this like a playoff game this week and it’s too much emotion to think about anything other than trying to find a way to win this game.”

Bryant has been asked about retirement for years. He has managed to keep Father Time at bay, but as the league’s third-oldest player, it’s difficult to envision the CFL’s most decorated offensive lineman playing much longer.

“You don’t want things to end because football is one of those things you feel like you could do forever,” said Bryant.

“So, you just try to stay locked in week to week and think of the best scenario in your head and that’s making it to the Grey Cup and winning it. And then you can make a decision after that.”

Whether this core group breaks up after this week, next week, next month, or further down the line, its members know how fortunate they’ve been to play together for as long as they have.

Neufeld, 37, recently suited up in his 200th CFL game. Eighty per cent of those appearances have come alongside Bryant on the offensive line, while Collaros has started at quarterback for nearly half of them.

The Bombers’ core is an anomaly in a league where rosters turn over on an annual basis. Few groups of teammates have stayed together as long or enjoyed as many winning seasons, highlighted by two Grey Cup wins and five appearances in the final between 2019 and 2024.

“It’s been an incredible environment to be in every day and to create bonds that will last way beyond being in this building,” said Neufeld.