Dalton Schoen’s football resumé screams out to anyone who has followed the Winnipeg Blue Bombers receiver. The huge catch total, the big yardage and a ridiculous touchdowns-to-games-played differential that has seen him cross the goal line 26 times in 37 contests.
And it could be said his educational resumé — he holds both an engineering degree and master’s in data analytics — gave him as good a read as anyone on Canadian Football League free agency and the market for his services.
Schoen officially put his name on a one-year deal with the Blue Bombers on Saturday, understanding that his 10 quarters of football played last season before a knee injury ruined his campaign would be a huge factor in contract talks with the club.
So, the 28-year-old Overland Park, KS product did what he has so often done in his career dating back to the days he first put on a helmet and shoulder pads — he bet on himself.
“Obviously a little bit of a different year for me, coming off injury,” began Schoen in a Zoom call with local media on Monday. “We kind of felt like we were in a different spot, negotiating-wise.”
Schoen conceded that team’s job is “to get as much value on the field for as cheap as they can, so they’ve got to use every trick in the book. It’s kind of a situation that’s understood by both sides. But you still have to try to find that middle ground where everybody’s kind of at least somewhat happy with it.”
And it’s here where familiarity, comfort and fit — plus, clearly, his relationship with quarterback Zach Collaros — worked in the club’s favour. Even coming off the knee injury Schoen would be in high demand on the open CFL market. Yet, the one-year bet-on-himself/prove-it deal made more sense here in Winnipeg than had he signed elsewhere.
“For sure,” said Schoen. “Regardless of how the deal looks it always means a lot to be somewhere where you’re comfortable. It goes beyond just the players on the team. It goes to the coaching staff and the philosophy of the team.
“It goes to the support staff, the equipment guys, the training room people — all that stuff means a lot to feel comfortable where you’re working because you know you’re going to get the most out of everything. Then for me specifically as a receiver having that connection I do with Zach and knowing we’re going to be able to do things offensively that I’m invested in and care about, all of that plays into it and inspires you to get the deal done earlier, if that makes sense.
“… And then added to that this year was me basically getting my whole last year stolen from me, it seems like,” he continued. “I played 2 1/2 games or whatever, and so to watch those guys go through the adversity they did last year and battle back and feeling like I was in a position where I couldn’t even help. You’re relegated to the sidelines and just watching that kind of makes you want to be back even more.”
Schoen spent most of July-through-November working on getting healthy again after surgery, spending his days with cornerback Jamal Parker, Jr. and defensive tackle Cam Lawson — both injured during training camp — and later quarterback Chris Streveler and linebacker Adam Bighill.
Now seven months since his surgery, Schoen is hopeful he’ll be up to 100 percent within a couple of months and ready to terrorize defences again when the 2025 season starts.
“That’s definitely the goal. Injuries are never fun, never a good thing,” he said. “But I do feel blessed we are at the point we’re at in sports medicine where no one is too concerned about coming back from these injuries and being the player you once were.
“If you look at this 20-30 years ago, people blew out their knee and just never played again in some situations. I do feel blessed this is something I can come back from and I’m hopeful and confident I can be every bit the player I was.”
a force to be reckoned with 🔥 #ForTheW pic.twitter.com/odAE1zm7Fu
— Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) February 1, 2025
