© 2022 Winnipeg Blue Bombers. All rights reserved.
It’s a question – or a series of them – that comes up every year around this time. And every year dating back to 2014, Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea clenches his teeth when offering his responses.
The Canadian Football League roster cutdown is looming, with the clock ticking toward Saturday’s 9 p.m. deadline for teams to do the final shaping of their roster.
And being the boss means owning the unenviable task of delivering the nasty news to players and informing them they’ve been released. That has already started in Bomberland, with 11 sent home Thursday in linebacker Darian Taylor, receivers BJ Mucklevene and Whop Philyor, running back Shane Simpson, offensive linemen Leon Johnson and Brandon Sanford, defensive end Jordan Berner and defensive backs Corey Straughter, Josh Miller, Zach Hannibal and Javon Jackson. Of that crew, only Miller – who dressed for four games last year, including the Grey Cup – was a retuning player.
“… Setting your roster is always difficult because you’ve got a lot of good players out here that deserve opportunities,” said O’Shea after a windy and frigid afternoon practice session. “We set the roster and some guys don’t get the opportunity that they deserved.
“We’ve been through this before and I always remind them that I might not know what I’m talking about. In fact, they shouldn’t really listen to me, they should just continue on with football it’s just not going to be here, unfortunately, for some guys.
“It’s the business side of it,” he added. “We try really hard not to remind them of that. We don’t spend time during the day reminding them that this day is coming. It’s ‘Let’s get out there and work and have fun with our teammates and see where it all falls after that.’”
The Thursday cuts still leave 85 players in camp for the Blue Bombers, meaning more doom and gloom will be delivered over the next few days. The remaining roster breakdown, by position:
O’Shea said that includes the coaching and personnel staff watching hours of practice and game film – particularly for those players on the bubble – to make sure they get their decisions right.
“If you’re the one that’s going to tell them ‘No’,” he said, “you’d better be sure.”
FYI: CB Winston Rose, who was in a walking boot after the Edmonton pre-season game, was back running Thursday but not fully participating in practice. OL Pat Neufeld and WR Greg Ellingson were also back, but had their workload limited… FB Mike Miller and OL Chris Kolankowski were also back in full gear… Not practising were WR Kelvin McKnight, CB Patrice Rene, LB Les Maruo, LB Kyrie Wilson, WR Drew Wolitarsky (who was sick), and LB Eric Mezzalira… With Rose running but not practising, Tyrell Ford got a lot of work at the one cornerback spot, opposite Tyquwan Glass… With Wolitarsky ill and Ellingson limited, Dalton Schoen, Brendan O’Leary-Orange and Janarion Grant had their reps in the receiving corps bumped significantly.
BANNER NEWS: The Blue Bombers announced Thursday the 2021 Grey Cup banner will be unveiled at the home opener on June 10th when the Ottawa RedBlacks visit. The unveiling will happen before kickoff, so the team is encouraging fans to get to their seats before the 7:30 start time.
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