If he could bottle his determination, mix it with his boundless energy and his zest for life, well, let’s just say Chris Streveler would then be a gazillionaire many, many times over.
After all, few bring a carpe-diem approach to their every day as Streveler does and if it was available as an energy drink, for example, the concoction would fly off the shelves — especially here in Friendly Manitoba.
Streveler met with the media Monday afternoon from his offseason base in Arizona after his contract extension with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers was announced on the weekend. And the veteran pivot was positively giddy about all the good things going in his life including his new baby girl Sunny, born in January, his growing QB school business and what is on the horizon for him in his football career.
“… It’s all been very exciting. This is just another piece of that puzzle that I’m extremely excited to keep playing,” said Streveler. “It really is a blessing to be able to play this game at this point in my career.
“I remember when I first got into that locker room as a rookie and seeing Matt Nichols and thinking, ‘Ah, man, this guy’s in his 30s. Like, imagine if I could play until I’m 30′, and to be able to do that is something that I’m proud of and was definitely a goal of mine when I started. So, I’m excited to keep stacking.”
“I want to show that I can overcome this and be what I know that I can be.”
FULL VIDEO » https://t.co/C9UC92Emz6#ForTheW pic.twitter.com/0MsvX4vaTz
— Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) February 10, 2025
Here’s what stood out from this perch with some answers edited for space in what we’ll call the Best of Strev…
On his usage in 2024 and his possible role in 2025 under new offensive coordinator Jason Hogan:
“Things happened last year where it just didn’t work out the way that I think anyone envisioned it would, on a lot of different fronts. Personally, for me, as a team, it just didn’t play out the way we thought it would. So, I asked all those questions.
“I’ve had some really good discussions with people, specifically within the Bombers. I’m really excited about Hogan taking over. I’ve had some good conversations with him. He brings good energy, and I know he has respect for who I am as a person and a player and a leader and what I can bring to a team. So, I felt really, really excited about those conversations I had with him, and that’s a big reason why I came back. Had I not had those conversations with someone and felt excited, it would have probably been a different conversation, right?
“Ultimately, at the end of the day, it’s just about winning games. I know I can help the team win games. So, whatever that looks like, whatever I can do to help us get W’s on the board, that’s all I care about at this stage of my career. It’s not about anything other than just trying to chase rings and win championships. So, that’s what I’m coming back to help us do and I think we’re going to build this thing out through camp and through the season and I think there’s going to be a role to be played to help us do that.”
Streveler did reveal he broke a rib in his lone start last season — a win over Ottawa in August — and that could have impacted his usage. As to what is ahead, he acts as his own agent and used last week’s negotiating window to sniff around the league to see what kind of opportunities there may have been for him elsewhere before settling on a return to Winnipeg.
“I think that there’s definitely a role that if I’m not starting, to do what we did in 2018 and ’19 and give a change of pace and add a different element. I know I can still do that.
“… I’m hoping that I have the opportunity to help this team win games this year, and I know I will.”
–On the changes to the roster with the expected departure of Kenny Lawler (who agreed to terms with Hamilton) and the loss of Drew Wolitarsky, who was released and has since signed with the Tiger-Cats:
“In terms of the new locker room, I just keep looking at it from the perspective that we’ve got fresh energy. We’ve got new guys coming in, guys bringing new ideas, fresh energy, fresh juice… sometimes that stuff’s needed, man. You go to five straight Cups, you lose three… that’s hard and you need some fresh juice in there to bring a fresh perspective because it can’t just be the same thing over and over again. It’s hard to do. It’s hard to go to five.
“I do think we have a good amount of leaders and veterans in that locker room that are going to guide new guys and show them the standard that’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers football. I don’t think it’s a total overhaul. There’s a lot of new guys but there’s enough guys to pull guys along and say, ‘Hey, this is the standard. This is what FIFO means. This is how we go about our business and we’re going to handle business.’
“And just to bring up Woli (heavy sigh) … I can’t sugar coat, man. It’s very disappointing, very hard for me knowing what he’s got on his plate with a family it’s scary when you get that call and you’re getting cut.
“… Do I wish he was still on the team? Absolutely, man. That’s my best friend. But business is business. It’s not my decision to make. I think he’s going to be missed from a leadership perspective just as much as anything he contributed on the field. But ultimately, this train keeps rolling with or without us so you keep playing football. You keep your head down. We’ve already got a jersey swap scheduled for the first time we play Hamilton so that will be kinda fun to be on the opposite side of him.”
And on Lawler:
“… Guys like that, it’s hard when they leave a locker-room, because there’s holes in leadership. For me personally, I look at it as an opportunity to continue to step up and grow as a leader and guide new guys along, and show them what it means to be a pro. But it always hurts when you lose guys like that that are players of that calibre and people of that calibre. But at the end of the day, man, I’ve got so much love for those dudes, they know this is bigger than ball. This is life. These are bonds that we have for life, and I will always be rooting for those dudes, no matter what.
“And one thing about being in this game for a long time, you learn to root for your friends to do well, and the guys that you’ve been in the locker-room with. I still take that approach with the NFL. People always ask me, ‘What’s your favourite team,’ and I’m like, ‘Dude, I just want all my friends to go play well, I want them to all make money. I don’t really care about the teams. I want my friends to go do well. And obviously I want the Bombers to win every single game. If Kenny catches two touchdowns and the Bombers win the game, hey, I’m okay with that. I’m happy he plays well. That’s my mindset. And I’m always rooting for those guys. They know I love ’em. I told them that privately, I’ll tell them that publicly. So, it’s all love and I just want them to go ball and do their thing.”
-And, finally, on his rehab from the knee injury he suffered in the Banjo Bowl that saw him completely tear is ACL and MCL and a significant tear of the PCL:
“I have been attacking this thing since Day 1, dude. If you saw me working out, you wouldn’t know that anything was wrong. I’m throwing three, four, five times a week. So, I’m putting in a ton of work. And I’ve got my sauna here, I’ve got my pool – really, anything you can do to make this happen, I’m doing it.
“When this originally happened I think the thought was, ‘Okay, middle of September surgery, maybe you’ll be back by August, September.’ You know how I’m built, man. I was just like, ‘Nah, come on. I’m going to be back by May.’ And I feel like I’ve been ahead of schedule this entire time, and that’s my mindset. I’m working every day with that in mind.”
MARKET OPENING SOON: CFL free agency opens Tuesday at 11 a.m. Here’s where things stand currently with the Blue Bombers as the annual talent grab is set to begin (*indicates Canadian):
Re-signed:
OL Stanley Bryant
OL Pat Neufeld*
OL Eric Lofton
LB Tony Jones
WR Dalton Schoen
QB Chris Streveler
DB Evan Holm
DB Jamal Parker, Jr.
LB Shayne Gauthier*
DE Willie Jefferson
DT Jake Thomas*
LB Kyrie Wilson
Added:
DE James Vaughters (Calgary)
LB Jonathan Jones (Toronto)
WR Dillon Mitchell (Edmonton)
About to hit the market:
RB Johnny Augustine*
S Brandon Alexander
DB Nick Taylor
LS Mike Benson*
LB Adam Bighill
WR/KR Lucky Whitehead
LB Bailey Feltmate* (retired)
DB Noah Hallett*
Players under contract who signed in the NFL:
WR Ontaria Wilson (New York Jets)
Players who have reportedly agreed to terms with other teams:
WR Kenny Lawler (Hamilton)
OL Liam Dobson* (Hamilton)
LB Brian Cole (Hamilton)
DT Miles Fox (Hamilton)
DE TyJuan Garbutt (Hamilton)
CB Tyrell Ford* (Edmonton)
DE Celestin Haba (Toronto)
