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News April 11, 2025

1st & 10 | Bryant: “We can still be really good.”

CFL Media Day; photo courtesy the CFL

@EdTaitWFC

Over his many, many years in the Canadian Football League — all 14 seasons and 219 games, plus 14 playoff contests and seven Grey Cups, to be exact — Stanley Bryant has seen some things.

He’s experienced all the high and lows that come with that long a run, including three championships and four more trips to the game that ended in disappointment — three of them in the last three years.

All of this is to say that when the veteran left tackle speaks, his teammates often lean in to soak up his wisdom. Fans, too, as Bryant’s voice is often that of calm and reason.

“We can still be really good,” Bryant told bluebombers.com in a phone interview from Hamilton where he was visiting for a CFL marketing/media shoot this week. “Yes, we lost some key guys, but we signed (Jerreth) Sterns from Sask, Reggie White, Jr., (Peyton) Logan, (Dillon) Mitchell on offence, and we signed some really good pieces on ‘D’ as well. We’ve just got to put it all together.

“I’m not sure a lot of people believe in us right now and that’s OK. We’ve heard a bit of that for the last few years, anyway. I know as long as we put the work in and handle adversity — and adversity will happen — we’ll be able to have another great season and hopefully have a chance to win a Grey Cup in Winnipeg.”

That ‘not sure a lot of people believe in us right now’ sentiment has been a common refrain this winter after the departures of Kenny Lawler, Drew Wolitarsky and Liam Dobson to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats — along with new GM Ted Goveia and a host of others — as well as Tyrell Ford to Edmonton, Pokey Wilson to the New York Jets, while Adam Bighill, coming off a knee injury, was not re-signed.

Couple that with other departures, like offensive coordinator Buck Pierce and receivers coach Kevin Bourgoin to the B.C. Lions as head coach and receivers coach/passing game coordinator, respectively, and that’s a ton of change to an organization that already underwent an overhaul last season.

The track record of ongoing success also means the football operations department and coaching staff have earned enough trust to believe they can tinker and improve in all the right places for this club to be a legitimate contender again in 2025.

“Change is part of the business. Each year the team looks different,” said Bryant. “That’s not anything you can prepare for at all as a player. But we also know there are going to be guys coming back again, guys like Paddy (Neufeld), who have been around for a while. We’re going to miss a guy like Woli, a funny guy, but you have to adjust and adapt in this game and then rely on someone else — not necessarily to fill that void — but to step in and do their thing. We’ve got to step forward and be a team with the new guys.

“Overall, this team has done a great job in free agency over the years and in bringing guys up to this league who are ready to play. We saw that last year with Pokey. KC (Kevens Clercius) did a good job when he got his chance to play. Eric Lofton came back from Sask and did a great job. Hopefully we can find some new guys and guys step into new roles and excel and get us back to the point where we have another chance to win a Grey Cup.

“I’m excited and just ready now to start things over. I’m pretty sure a lot of guys that were in the 2024 Grey Cup are ready now to get that out of the way. We’ve watched the film and let that die. I’m ready to get back to camp and work our way through another season. Then, hopefully, we can get back to another Grey Cup again.”

That’s how Bryant is doing the silver-lining thing in the wake of last November’s championship loss — turn the page and trust this crew has another run in it.

“I watched the whole (Grey Cup game) over again in December and then 10-15 plays of the game last month and then turned it off,” he said. “It’s one of those things you can’t dwell on for too long. I mean, yeah, we lost the last three, but we found a way to get back there last year after a slow start.

“We’ve got to figure that out again this year and if that means we have to change something in our process, we have to do it. But it begins on May 9th and then we just work on it from there.”

One month from the opening of training camp, Byrant — who turns 39 next month and coming off a season in which he was named All-CFL for an eighth time — insists he still has that fire to compete raging in his belly.

“I still enjoy it so much. I still have a lot of desire for this,” he said. “Football is something I’ve been playing since little league and to be able to get to the point where I’ve had 14-15 years of professional football feels great. But I still think there are a few things I can attain.

“That Grey Cup loss last year doesn’t sit well, and I’ve got even more motivation, more energy, to be back there again.”

More notes and quotes in this week’s edition of 1st & 10…

The other Blue Bombers player in Hamilton… for the CFL media/marketing shoot is reigning league Most Outstanding Player/Most Outstanding Canadian Brady Oliveira.

Oliveira spoke on Thursday about his recent trip to Africa as a CFL ambassador for World Vision and that piece can be found here, ICYMI:

“It was 100 percent life changing.”

The 27-year-old Winnipegger was just as keen to talk football and, like Bryant, also embracing how the changes could also invigorate a team dealing with three championship losses in a row after wins in 2019 and 2021.

“I’m extremely excited. Every year there’s excitement but, for me, I’m pumped about this season,” Oliveira said. “Obviously there’s been changes, but there are still a lot of familiar faces which are good. Change is inevitable and I would absolutely loved to have had all the boys up front back. Losing Liam (Dobson) is going to suck but I know we’ve got some amazing guys who are ready for that opportunity. Bringing back Eric Lofton to solidify the tackle spot was massive. So, there’s a change up front but the level of excitement is real.

“Having a new face at the offensive coordinator position (Jason Hogan) will give us new ideas. I’m excited for Coach J, my boy Hoges, to bring new ideas. He’ll know how to use every guy on offence because he knows everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. I could go on for days talking about this. No one will out-work Jay. He’s there extremely early and extremely late and the sacrifices he makes for his family and this team are amazing. He’s a selfless dude and he’s going to help make this thing better.”

Kudos to the Calgary Stampeders who have… brainstormed to come up with their own signature game — the Stampede Bowl — like the Banjo Bowl is here in Winnipeg, and with the Blue Bombers scheduled to be the first-even opponent. The Stamped Bowl will be held Thursday, July 3rd during the annual Stampede in Calgary.

Blue Bombers President and CEO Wade Miller and his counterpart with the Stamps, Jay McNeil have also made a side wager on the game, with the losing team making a donation to charity.

And finally, ICYMI… a big financial week for the Blue Bombers with the club reporting a record operating profit of $7 million for 2024. For those who want to do a deep dive on the report, you can read it here and the link to our news story is below.

WFC posts record operating profit of $7 million

Our talented content team also came up with this info-video that breaks everything down: