Positional Preview | #8 The Quarterbacks

Ed Tait

@EdTaitWFC

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers enter the 2026 Canadian Football League season with two distinct quarterback narratives running on parallel tracks.

First, there is the here and now objective to get Zach Collaros comfortable in new offensive coordinator Tommy Condell’s system.

Second — and knowing full well teams truly live in the moment — is also the need to cement who lines up behind Collaros in 2026 and beyond, with the future hall of famer turning 38 in August and entering the final year of his contract.

So, it’s with that in mind that we open the final chapter in our 10th annual Positional Preview series with a look at the quarterbacks.

Interestingly, over the winter a handful of Canadian Football League sites ranked the Blue Bombers QB depth — Collaros, third-year man Terry Wilson, and newcomers Bryce Perkins and Payton Thorne — as ninth, or last, in the entire loop.

That hot take likely stands for many as training camp approaches even with the addition of Canadian prospect Taylor Elgersma last week after the window closed on his shot with the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL due to work visa issues.

Still, perception and reality are two different things and what’s absolutely critical now for the Blue Bombers is to prove their QB room has the talent and depth to make the franchise a Grey Cup contender again.

Collaros enters camp as the clear-cut QB1 and with a familiar veteran coordinator in place in Condell, who joins the team with 15-years of coaching experience in this league with five different teams.

Three key upgrades were also made around him, with mammoth tackle Jarell Broxton brought in from the B.C. Lions, receivers Tim White from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Tommy Nield from the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Couple those additions with the likes of Nic Demski, Pokey Wilson and workhorse running back Brady Oliveira also sharing the huddle and there are less questions on offence heading into camp than at this time last year.

The Blue Bombers, simply put, need Collaros to stay upright and put up prolific numbers again. Consider this: from 2021 through 2023 Collaros had a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 90:34 as he won back-to-back CFL Most Outstanding Player Awards in 2021-22.

Over the last two years that ratio is 34:31, including a career-high 16 interceptions last season in 13 starts.

Even with that decline in numbers, there were enough flashes last year to give confidence he can still get it done with the highlights being a 334-yard/three touchdown effort in a win over Edmonton and 367-yard performance in a victory over Hamilton.

Yet, there is more mystery on the depth chart behind Collaros heading into camp than in any other of the six seasons he’s been in Winnipeg. Veteran Chris Streveler retired in the offseason, as did Chase Artopoeus, who dressed as the third pivot on a few occasions in 2025.

Management added some enticing talent over the winter, including the 29-year-old Perkins, who was the UFL’s MVP last year, and former Michigan State/Auburn starter Payton Thorne, who was last in camp with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Elgersma in preseason action last year in Green Bay

Elgersma also offers an intriguing option, not just because he is Canadian and a former Hec Crighton Trophy winner as the top player in this country during his days at Wilfrid Laurier University. He’s 6-5, 227 pounds and his scouting reports rave about his arm strength and his ability to process quickly. Also worth noting: as much as he’s already been dubbed the heir apparent to Collaros, that kind of chatter has not come from inside the building as the club clearly needs to see up close and personal what they have in last year’s second-round draft pick.

It also says something of the confidence the Blue Bombers have in Wilson, Perkins, Thorne and Elgersma to ultimately emerge as options behind Collaros that they didn’t pursue some veteran CFL pivots still available in the open market like McLeod Bethel-Thompson, Caleb Evans or Tyrie Adams.

Ultimately, main training camp opens on May 10th with the Blue Bombers first and foremost working to get Collaros operating at his best again. They are all in, clearly, to have him ready for the season opener in Calgary against the Stampeder on June 5th.

That must be priority No. 1.

Just as important long term — the second QB narrative — is to have someone emerge to push him now and be ready to come out of the bullpen this year and beyond.

POSITIONAL PREVIEW ’26

Quarterbacks

Terry Wilson

Offensive coordinator/QB coach: Tommy Condell
The Returnees:
Starter: Zach Collaros
Returning vets: Terry Wilson
2025 CFL Draft: Taylor Elgersma* (Rd 2, 18th overall)
Newcomers: Bryce Perkins, Payton Thorne
Departed: Chris Streveler (retired) Chase Artopoeus (retired)

Keep an eye on:

Bryce Perkins, #9

The 2025 season was still very much in the rear-view mirror when the Blue Bombers announced the signing of Perkins late last November.

There’s a lot to be fascinated by with his credentials, too. He’s 29 with a pro football resumé that includes spending the last two years in the UFL, where he was named the league’s MVP and Offensive Player of the Year last season with a league-leading passer rating of 108.7.

Perkins was also part of the Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl LVI winning squad of 2021, appearing in five games and making one start. He spent his college days at Arizona State and Virginia and with the Cavaliers in 2018 set a school record for single-season offence with 3.603 yards and 34 touchdowns.

Did you know?

Collaros is 55-20 in the regular season as a Blue Bombers starter with his win total ranking behind only Ken Ploen (82) and Dieter Brock (71) in franchise history.

He’s third in Blue Bombers history in TD passes with 126 — Brock finished with 187; Khari Jones is second at 139 — and third in passing yardage at 19,225, just 950 yards behind Jones.

Notable Number:

No QB in Blue Bombers history has a better passer rating than Collaros at 106.4.

Some other passer ratings among the club’s legendary QBs with 35 or more starts: Matt Nichols (60 starts/97.4), Jack Jacobs (62/90.7), Jones (73/90.6), Kevin Glenn (73/89.5), Tom Clements (60/87.5), Matt Dunigan (39/86.3), Brock (120/84.9), Kenny Ploen (135/82.7) and Don Jonas (53/69.7).