Mike O'Shea and his staff still have some roster shaping to do before Friday's season opener in Calgary; photos by Cameron Bartlett
Less than 24 hours before the Winnipeg Blue Bombers management team began swinging the axe with their roster moves over the weekend, receiver Christian Fredericksen stood outside the locker room and attempted to put into perspective what was now staring him in the face.
The Blue Bombers had just finished their preseason with a 30-19 loss to the B.C. Lions at Princess Auto Stadium and now everything was out of Fredericksen’s control, even after leading the team with six catches for 79 yards.
Positional depth, injuries, the Canadian-player ratio rules, the two preseason games and every single rep in every single practice since rookie camp in early May would all be factors in the decision making, yet after Friday’s contest the player had to willingly surrender that those decisions would be decided without any further personal input.
Christian Fredericksen
Fredericksen spoke of leaving ‘everything you have out there because there’s no promises of any more practices or games’ and then added this:
“Now I get to go relax. People are going to panic and stress but you’ve done everything you can and now it’s out of your control. It’s not up to me anymore. I might go get some ice cream now and just try to relax. Obviously, this time is stressful but I’m trying to tell myself I’ve done all I can and I don’t have any regrets with how I handled everything.
“That will probably help me sleep a little better. This whole thing has been a blast. A dream come true, really.”
Fredericksen, for what it’s worth, was added to the practice roster Saturday evening, meaning when the club returns to practice on Tuesday, he’ll be on the field fighting to earn a spot on the active roster either in the short term or down the road. He was one of 11 players added to the practice squad — another was signed off the street — while 25 weren’t so lucky and were released outright.
ICYMI, here is our Game Recap from Friday’s loss:
And what follows is a further examination of the roster moves in this week’s edition of UPON FURTHER REVIEW…
LET’S GET TO THE NUTS AND BOLTS… of the roster moves first:
Joining Fredericksen on the practice roster are the following Canadians:
-Defensive lineman Collin Kornelson
-Running back Matthew Peterson
-Linebacker Charles-Elliot Bouliane
-Receiver Daniel Oladejo. Oladejo is a late addition to camp — he was drafted in the second round, 17th overall, by the Ottawa RedBlacks in the 2023 CFL Canadian Draft and appeared in 15 games over the next two years with four receptions before being added by the Montreal Alouettes last year and suiting up for three games.
The Americans added to the PR were:
-OL Hunter Poncius and Micah Mazzccua
-DL David Reese and Michael Fletcher
-WR Dorian Singer and Kenneth Womack
-DB Ridge Texada
Canadians released outright were:
-OL Iwinosa Uwubanmwen
-Receivers Joshua Jack, Thomas Desrosiers, Kolby Hurford and Jackson Tachinski
-DL Carter Hooper and Kaleb Mackie-McLeod
-K Brady Lidster
Americans released were:
-OL Kendall Randolph, Sebastian Pares and Bucky Williams
-DL Antoineo Harris, Arnold Young and Jonah Pace
-RB Stevie Rocker
-WRs TJ Davis, Jihad Marks, Jayden Harrison and Jamoi Mayes
-DBs Deandre Lamont, Bryan Addison and Warren Burrell
-LBs Micah Cretsinger and Ja’Kobe Clinton
Also let go was Global punter Keegan Andrews.
3 TAKEWAYS FROM THE ROSTER MOVES NEWS…
Kendall Randolph
1 Key to all this is to not draw any conclusions on what the roster might look like for Friday’s season opener in Calgary until we see what happens on the practice field on Tuesday.
It’s been a bit since we saw SB Nic Demski, CB/KR Trey Vaval and CB Jonathan Moxey on the field and their availability one way or another dramatically impacts whether players get called up to the active roster due to injury.
2 The biggest name to be let go was Randolph, who was entering his third year with the club and started every game at right tackle a year ago.
One of the Blue Bombers big free-agent additions over the winter was Jarell Broxton and he slides into that spot opposite Stanley Bryant. The coaches did look at Randolph at both guard and tackle in camp, but the move also says something about the camps of the other American O-linemen still around other than Bryant and Broxton in Tyler Elsbury, Micah Vanterpool, Hunter Poncius and Micah Mazzccua.
3 Five members of the Blue Bombers’ nine-player 2026 CFL Canadian Draft Class are still around on the active roster or practice roster. They include current active roster players DE Nuer Gatkuoth (First round, 4th overall), TE Dante Daniels (Rd 2, 10th overall), DB Ethan Stuart (Rd 4, 33rd overall) and LB Brody Clark (Rd 5, 42nd overall) and LB Charles-Elliot Bouliane (Rd 3, 24th overall) who is on the practice squad.
OL Kevin Cline (second round, 20th overall) is with the Miami Dolphins and let go on the weekend were WR Joshua Jack and K Brady Lidster while receiver Ben Britton opted to step away from the game after having a decent rookie camp.
STILL TO BE DETERMINED… is what will happen with the starting gigs based on performance and injuries. To that end:
Major Williams
-CB Major Williams helped himself with his work as camp progressed and into the two preseason games. He’s looking to lock down the starting corner job opposite Jonathan Moxey. And if Moxey doesn’t return to practice, the Blue Bombers may also turn to Ridge Texada or Vaval, who started games there last year.
-What happens along the offensive line with the starters will still be interesting to track in the days ahead. Tui Elli didn’t play in the final tune-up game with Elsbury getting a ton of work there. Vanterpool and Ethan Vibert could also be options along the interior.
-Kydran Jenkins and De’Shaan Dixon had excellent camps, as did Gatkuoth, the first-round pick. The Blue Bombers now have some excellent options at end on the other side of veteran Willie Jefferson.
-If Demski isn’t cleared the coaches could tinker with using an American there, knowing the ratio could play a part. Dorian Singer or Kenneth Womack would be the import options, with Gavin Cobb and Joey Corcoran the Canadian candidates. Of note, Kevens Clercius was injured in the first preseason game and hasn’t returned to practice yet.
