The Champ Is Here: Collaros stays with Bombers

CFL.ca Staff

WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have agreed to terms with all-star quarterback Zach Collaros on a one-year contract extension. He was scheduled to become a free agent next month.

Collaros (six-foot, 222 pounds; University of Cincinnati; born: August 27, 1988 in Steubenville, OH) returns in 2022 for a third season with the Blue Bombers and his 10th in the Canadian Football League.

The 2021 campaign was a memorable one for Collaros, as he helped guide his squad to a second consecutive Grey Cup championship while being named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player, the Blue Bombers Most Outstanding Player as well as earning West Division and CFL All-Star honours.

Collaros was at the No. 1 ranked player on CFL.ca’s top-30 pending free agents.

Collaros has known nothing but success in his time with the Bombers, leading the team to back-to-back Grey Cup victories (Photo: BlueBombers.com)

He was also named the MVP of the 108th Grey Cup after a 33-25 overtime victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. In the process, he became the first Blue Bombers quarterback to lead the club to consecutive Grey Cup championships since Ken Ploen in 1961-62.

Collaros led the CFL in passing touchdowns this past season with 20 and posted a league-best quarterback efficiency rating of 111.0, while his 3,185 passing yards ranked second. Most importantly, the club’s record was 11-2 in games Collaros started in the regular season and he is now 17-2 overall in starts for the Bombers dating back to his arrival in 2019 and including the Grey Cup victory that November.

The Bombers acquired Collaros on Oct. 9, 2019 in a trade with the with the Toronto Argonauts that also netted Winnipeg a fifth-round 2020 draft pick in exchange for a third-round selection in 2020 and a conditional first-round pick that same year. That selection was officially granted to the Argos in January of 2020 when Collaros signed a two-year extension with the Blue Bombers.

Collaros led the Bombers to a 4-0 record in 2019, winning his debut in the club’s regular season finale before the run to the Grey Cup that also included victories in the Western Semi-Final and Western Final, all this after having been traded twice during the year; first from Saskatchewan to Toronto, then from the Argos to Winnipeg.

Collaros first signed in the CFL with the Argos in 2012 and has since appeared in 105 regular-season games with Toronto, Hamilton, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg. He has a 46-34 record as a starter in his career and has thrown for 20,164 yards with 114 touchdowns against 58 interceptions.

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