Zoom in on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers special teams units from a year ago for an in-depth study and the close-up will reveal some attractive features and some pock-marked flaws.

And so, as we begin our 9th annual Positional Preview series leading up to the start of training camp on May 11th with a look at the specialists — the kickers, the return game and kick-cover units — we open with the special teams units that, to be frank, were all over the map in 2024.

First, the good:

-Sergio Castillo was named the club’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player for a second straight season as he established a Canadian Football League record by connecting on 11 field goals of 50 yards or more, including two makes from 60 which broke the old club mark of 58 first set by Bernie Ruoff in 1975 and tied by Justin Medlock in 2016. Castillo became such a reliable long-range weapon head coach Mike O’Shea regularly trotted him out from great distances, as he attempted 16 field goals of 50-plus yards. That also impacted his field goal percentage, which dipped to 79.7 from the club record 90.2 he set in 2023.

-The Blue Bombers kick-cover units were outstanding under first-year coordinator Mike Miller — the greatest special teams tackler in CFL history — as Winnipeg ranked first in opponent punt-return average (9.6 yards per return) and tied for first with Ottawa in opponent kickoff return average (20.0) while being only one of two teams, along with B.C., not to surrender a kick-return touchdown last season.

Mike Miller

And the not-so good:

-The Blue Bombers finished last in punting average (44.4 yards), although Jamieson Sheahan often sacrificed average by being the lone CFL punter not to punt for a single.

-The Blue Bombers finished last in big-play returns — 30-plus yards on a punt or missed field-goal return; 40 yards or more on a kickoff return — with just three. By comparison, Toronto was first with 15. Last year also marked the first time since 2018 the club did not have a single punt or kickoff return for a touchdown. Those numbers were especially tortuous for Bomber Nation every time old friend Janarion Grant, who left for Toronto in the offseason, did his magic in Argonaut colours.

With all that now brought again to the forefront, let’s fast-forward now to the present as the Blue Bombers ready for 2025.

The kicking battery remains intact with veteran long-snapper Mike Benson dishing to Sheahan on punts and on field goals as the holder on Castillo’s field-goal attempts. The kick cover units figure to be solid once again with the top six tacklers from a year ago — Michael Ayers, Michael Griffin II, Tanner Cadwallader, Shayne Gauthier, Tony Jones and Nick Hallett — all back.

The biggest change for the Blue Bombers — and pardon us for burying the lede here — is the addition of Peyton Logan via free agency and the Calgary Stampeders, to breathe some life into the return game.

Peyton Logan

In Grant’s absence the Blue Bombers brought in eight different return candidates a year ago, with Myron Mitchell and Kody Case getting cracks to open the season before the club summoned veteran Lucky Whitehead as an unsigned free agent. Whitehead finished seventh in punt return average and eighth in kickoff return average but was far from the home-run threat Grant had become in Winnipeg before his exit.

Enter Logan who, it could be argued, was the Blue Bombers most-important free-agent addition this winter. Just 26, Logan led the Stamps in both punt and kickoff return yards, ranking third in the league in both categories, and instantly breathes life into the team’s return department. Let’s not understate how vital a good returner can be — Logan had 68 combined punt and kickoff returns in 14 games a year ago and was third in the league in punt return yards in his rookie season.

Those are all solid numbers, yet it will still take some work for Logan and the return teams to step out of the long shadow still cast by Grant.

POSITIONAL PREVIEW ’25

THE SPECIALISTS

Benson, Castillo and Sheahan

The returnees:

Placekicker: Sergio Castillo
Punter: Jamieson Sheahan
Long-snapper: Mike Benson
New faces: Peyton Logan (RB, returner), Ian Leroux (long-snapper); James Evans (punter, selected in the second round of the 2025 Global Draft)

Keep an eye on:

KR/RB Peyton Logan, #4

The Blue Bombers enter 2025 without a question in the return game courtesy the addition of Logan. What shouldn’t be overlooked are his skills as a running back, too, both as a potential change-of-pace to Brady Oliveira, but also as an important depth piece.

Logan has a career rushing average of 6.5 yards over three seasons and 136 touches and last year added 23 receptions for the Stamps, a career high.

Did you know?

The Blue Bombers were once again the least-penalized team on special teams in 2023, an honour they’ve held for each of the last four years. The foot soldiers were nailed with 30 penalties in 2019, 19 in 2021 (in 14 games), 14 in 2022 and 21 last season.

Notable Number: 11

Over the last two seasons the Blue Bombers have had just 11 big-play returns — again, 30 yards or more on a punt or missed field goal and 40 on kickoffs. Just to put that into perspective, four teams matched or bettered that total last season alone — Toronto (15), Montreal and Ottawa (13) and Saskatchewan (11).