OT: Winnipeg Blue Bombers 2024 Season Thread - Footnote it is. Another long off-season ahead.

[Jets 31]

As in "Yup, that guy is definitely 54"?

Good one . I'm in pretty good shape for the shape i'm in.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

A surprise release heading into main camp in 2023 1st round pick DE Anthony Bennett. I think he had an incredibly disappointing rookie season and I had him marked as a potential release, but I didn't think it would happen this fast. The whole point of the pick was to get a guy a ready to go immediately due to his age (he'll turn 28 during this season) but it seems he proved he wasn't ready to go last year.

Obviously changes along the DL expected. They'll likely be trying to find a way to get 3 American DE's on the roster.

Alternatively Jonathan Kongbo is the same age as Bennett and a FA. 2021 was quite a while ago, but he had a solid year as the #3 DE back then. Hes had character concerns since but maybe the strict FIFO regime is what he needs.

In other interesting new Riders released CB Jalen Edwards-Cooper. After three solid years in BC, Edwards-Cooper was a FA Day 1 signing in Sask. Not sure if he arrived to camp out of shape or what, but if they could afford it he's a decent CB.

 

[WolfHouse]

A surprise release heading into main camp in 2023 1st round pick DE Anthony Bennett. I think he had an incredibly disappointing rookie season and I had him marked as a potential release, but I didn't think it would happen this fast. The whole point of the pick was to get a guy a ready to go immediately due to his age (he'll turn 28 during this season) but it seems he proved he wasn't ready to go last year.

Obviously changes along the DL expected. They'll likely be trying to find a way to get 3 American DE's on the roster.

Alternatively Jonathan Kongbo is the same age as Bennett and a FA. 2021 was quite a while ago, but he had a solid year as the #3 DE back then. Hes had character concerns since but maybe the strict FIFO regime is what he needs.

In other interesting new Riders released CB Jalen Edwards-Cooper. After three solid years in BC, Edwards-Cooper was a FA Day 1 signing in Sask. Not sure if he arrived to camp out of shape or what, but if they could afford it he's a decent CB.

Thought fayad would compete - who's left for DE behind Haba

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Thought fayad would compete - who's left for DE behind Haba

Chauncey Rivers is a guy with a couple years NFL experience, only 26 yo. He was an OLB edge rusher in NFL, so a true passer rusher.

John Waggoner out of Iowa, good size at 6'5" 270lbs. Might be able to slide inside in CFL game.

TyJuan Garbutt spent most of last year on Bombers PR. Dressed for season finale against Calgary recording 1 tackle.

Those appear to be the front runners for DE3 right now, IMO.

 

[bustamente]

Will have to give a mulligan to Walters re the Bennett pick

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Official TC roster after rookie camp releases

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Will have to give a mulligan to Walters re the Bennett pick

To be fair, so far there's not that much behind Bennett that stands out.

Only one is the guy I was hoping they'd get which was CB Siriman Bagayogo. The concern with him was he'd only ever played CB. Very little ST experience. Questions on if he could transition to CFL level at CB and limited use elsewhere. But this is not the type of player the Bombers usually target. He was OK as a backup last year in BC, he might be getting his chance to start this year.

I'd bet money Uguak is the guy the Bombers wanted, but he got sniped at 7 by MTL (since signed by Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a year as a rotational guy in MTL).

It was a fairly weak draft year.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Apparently OL Kendall Randolph and DE Ali Fayad are still in WPG. Might have been released just for now and will be added back to roster later when some other cuts are made.

 

[snowkiddin]

Certainly a wide open year for Bombers. Looking like the Bombers and Lions are the two best teams in the league and everyone else is a whole lotta meh.

Unfortunately, it was a similar story to last year and we know how that went.

 

[blueandgoldguy]

I preface this by saying the Bombers are likely still holding back tickets for prospective season ticket holders and mini pack holders, but as of right now, there are only singles available for Banjo Bowl.

 

[WolfHouse]

Wow kramdi with the big bucks...

 

[bustamente]

One name on the list is kinda a surprise

 

[Holden Caulfield]

One name on the list is kinda a surprise

Raleigh Texada and Ravi Alston are two guys I thought would compete for spots down to the wire. Bit surprised they didn't even get into a pre-season game. I believe both spent extensive time on the PR last year though, so Bombers knew who they were.

 

[bustamente]

Raleigh Texada and Ravi Alston are two guys I thought would compete for spots down to the wire. Bit surprised they didn't even get into a pre-season game. I believe both spent extensive time on the PR last year though, so Bombers knew who they were.

I thought Alston would get into both preseason games, thought he had a good chance to make the team but I guess we have better in camp.

 

[ThinIce61]

Apparently OL Kendall Randolph and DE Ali Fayad are still in WPG. Might have been released just for now and will be added back to roster later when some other cuts are made.

Bennett is possibly still here. Saw a tweet I can now not find that Bennett came to camp injured so was released so the Bombers could have roster spots for healthy bodies. Tweet said Bennett was still in the Bombers plans once healthy. Take it for what it's worth since senility prevents me from locating the post.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

There was ALOT of off-season hype about KJ Hill. Some people had him as the front runner for WR5.

 

[jetsforever]

CFL+ was awesome last year and apparently got even better with playback now

 

[bustamente]

 

[Royale With Cheese]

When I open my TSN app on iPad, I see the CFL+ schedule but I do not see this game scheduled. What am I missing?

 

[snowkiddin]

When I open my TSN app on iPad, I see the CFL+ schedule but I do not see this game scheduled. What am I missing?

Try this link here: - CFL.ca

 

[Stumbledore]

Try this link here: - CFL.ca

Thank you. Much appreciated!

 

[Royale With Cheese]

Try this link here: - CFL.ca

Thank you.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

View attachment 873457

Mistake there as #30 CB Tyrell Ford is listed as an American. It's since been corrected on subsequent depth charts sent out by the team. Bombers may be starting as many as 10 Canadians week 1.
LG Liam Dobson, C Chris Kolankowski, RG Patrick Neufeld, WR Nic Demski, WR Drew Wolitarsky, RB Brady Oliveira, DT Cameron Lawson, CB Tyrell Ford, SLB Redha Kramdhi, MLB Shayne Gauthier

But this does give us some insight as to the thinking here early in camp.

Notes to take from this (all IMO of course)
Eric Lofton appears to be the front runner at RT. That guy is a journeyman very mediocre player. Struggled in Sask last year. Was REALLY hoping that he would not get the job by default.
Tyjuan Garbutt has the inside track on DE3 role right now.
Reports I was hearing had Wilson leading the charge for the QB3 role. Barriere being listed as #2 says that the Bombers still have him as the front runner at QB3.
As suspected they are going to convert Chris-Ike to FB.
Tyrell Ford has the inside path on the race to start at CB, wide open now that Parker is out for an indefinite amount of time.
Myron Mitchell appears to be the front runner at WR5 right now. Interesting the Ontaria Wilson is listed as a starter, that is not a guy that was getting any hype.

 

[snowkiddin]

Riders going heavy on the starters today.

I suspect we’ll hear about how the Riders have turned over a new leaf and will contend for the West title just like we did last year in the pre-season when their opening night roster beat our training camp cuts

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Riders going heavy on the starters today.

I suspect we’ll hear about how the Riders have turned over a new leaf and will contend for the West title just like we did last year in the pre-season when their opening night roster beat our training camp cuts

Yup it's the same old same old. Every team plays their starters in their home pre-season game and almost always wins. And it's the same story always.

As I keep telling my fiancee, this game is NOT about score. It's about seeing how some of the guys compete to real live snaps. There's a TON of roster battles this year, this most position battles we've had since at least 2019. Can't wait to see if anyone stands out here.

Cruickshanks as the KR/PR is another one to watch. This guy went to the same school as Janarion Grant, hopefully he can replicate some of Grant's success. Still not sure why he's not back (Grant that is). He never signed elsewhere, I guess he's just retiring? Too bad cause he was on the verge of breaking some CFL records.