Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca
TORONTO — Brady Oliveira will have plenty of suitors should he choose to wear new colours in 2024.
The CFL’s Free Agency period opens on Feb. 13, 2024 at noon ET and few players will draw more attention than the 2023 Most Outstanding Canadian Player.
Oliveira led the league in rushing yards in 2023 with 1,534 while also catching 48 passes for 482 yards to become the second National player to go over 2,000 yards from scrimmage in CFL history.
The running back is coming off four straight Grey Cup appearances with two titles after four seasons with his hometown team. The Winnipeg native took over the starting duties for the Blue Bombers in 2022 after veteran Andrew Harris left and amassed two straight 1,000-yard seasons.
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Oliveira was also stellar in the post-season with Winnipeg in 2023, rushing 21 times for 109 yards and a major against the Lions in the Western Final before getting 19 carries for 119 yards and another touchdown against the Alouettes in the Grey Cup. That’s a year after he rushed for a combine 212 yards in two playoff appearances with the Bombers in 2022.
There are plenty of football teams around the globe that could use the services of Oliveira. Should he choose to return to Winnipeg, he’s just 36 yards shy of 3,000 career rushing yards and will get a chance to continue writing his name in the team’s record book. The Bombers offensive identity has been that of a team that likes to play a physical brand of football and wear down their opponents, which is very suitable to Oliveira’s style of play.
A team like the BC Lions – who is very familiar after being knocked out by Oliveira and the Bombers the last two years in the playoffs – could become even more dangerous on offence by adding the top running back in the CFL to a high-flying passing offence led by Vernon Adams Jr. and co. The Calgary Stampeders – who have had success in the ground over the last few years with veterans like Ka’Deem Carey and Dedrick Mills – would also benefit from adding a complete back like No. 20.
Oliveira has only gotten better every year since entering the league, going from 429 rushing yards in 2021 to 1,001 in 2022 to 1,534 in 2023. If he continues on that trajectory the sky is the limit for the young National running back.
