Only compliments from Bombers roster for offensive lineman Eli

You’d think Tui Eli has the patience of a saint.

He’s been a Winnipeg Blue Bomber for five seasons, and yet, the Canadian offensive lineman has started just six games.

Instead of being a full-timer in the trenches, the University of Hawai’i product has been used as a reliable and versatile rotational piece — with zero complaints.

“He will, a lot of times, put other people first and he will always put the team first. So, if you ask him to do something, he’s not going to show any type of disappointment or anything like that — that’s his role and he will not only accept it, but do whatever he can to thrive in that role for everybody else,” said head coach Mike O’Shea after Wednesday’s training camp session.

Bombers return star Vaval pushing for starting role on defence in second CFL season

WINNIPEG - Trey Vaval dominated the CFL in 2025, rewriting league and franchise record books during a historic rookie season.

As the Winnipeg Blue Bombers open training camp, many around the three-down game are wondering what the dynamic returner has planned for an encore in his second year. While fans might expect more record-breaking returns, Vaval's second act is aimed at a completely different phase of the game.

With significant vacancies in the club's secondary, the 25-year-old hopes to parlay his success as a specialist into a full-time starting role on defence.

"I believe I can make an impact on defence. But no matter where I am on the field, I just want to be out there helping my team," Vaval said, standing in the south end zone at Princess Auto Stadium Sunday following the league's first day of training camp. "I want to play every spot — returning, defence, offence. I will do anything for my team."

Dixon turning heads at Bomber camp

You want to make a statement in training camp?

Just take a page out of De’Shaan Dixon’s playbook and steamroll the most decorated offensive lineman in CFL history in a one-on-one drill.

That’ll get people talking.

“I was surprised, but it’s all good,” admitted left tackle Stanley Bryant after Monday’s session. The rep in question occurred on Day 1 on Sunday.

Blue Bombers training camp begins with excitement

The first day of training camp can even riddle a franchise player with nerves.

“It’s all anxiety, I’m not gonna lie,” admitted receiver Nic Demski after Sunday’s opening session in a chat with the Free Press.

“But I mean, it’s funny because I was literally about to go to sleep last night and I looked at my (partner) and was like ‘I’m nervous as hell right now.’ She just looked at me and said ‘That’s how you know you still love it.’ And it’s true.”

“We are human after all, believe it or not.”

Bombers’ rookie linesman Elsbury looking to stick around this season

It’s hard to knock Tyler Elsbury for starting just six games in five years at the University of Iowa.

He was part of a loaded offensive lineman room that featured five players selected across the past two editions of the NFL draft.

And when Elsbury first arrived on campus in 2020, he was behind Tyler Linderbaum — a first-round draft pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2022 who is now the highest-paid centre in the NFL.

Elsbury could’ve transferred to a different school for his final two years to become a full-timer, but he opted to stay put.

Rookie tight end Dante Daniels turns childhood struggles into CFL dream

WINNIPEG - Dante Daniels is the first to admit he was an emotional kid. He was so quick to tears, he says, that his foster family used to jokingly tease him whenever the waterworks started.

Fast-forward to today, however, and that sensitive boy has grown into a 272-pound rookie tight end who relishes the violence of a sport as a necessary outlet for the hardships he faced growing up in Windsor, Ont. For as long as he can remember, football has been the ultimate escape.

"Realizing in this sport that you could hit someone legally and not get arrested for it, I take my aggression out from my childhood or from just getting screwed over at different times," Daniels said following Day 1 of Winnipeg Blue Bombers rookie camp at Princess Auto Stadium Wednesday. "I'm someone who is hard-nosed and not afraid to put my head in stuff. I will do anything to protect my teammates. I'll go toe-to-toe with anyone and make a hole."

That fierce, protective instinct was forged long before his college days at North Carolina State. As the third oldest of six children, Daniels was forced to grow up fast.

Jenkins ready for more football

The game was meaningless in the standings but meant the world to defensive end Kydran Jenkins.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers rested the majority of their starters in last year’s regular-season finale at home against the Montreal Alouettes. That led to Jenkins — a promising prospect out of Purdue who had signed with the Blue and Gold two and a half weeks earlier —being thrust into a starting role.

“I kind of got thrown in the fire, but I ended up playing good that game,” said Jenkins, who was out of football for several months prior to that after attending Carolina Panthers rookie minicamp.

He certainly did. He had several pressures and managed to record his first career sack.

Bombers job could mess with Thorne's plans to host Super Bowl MVP

If Payton Thorne has it his way, he won’t have much time for his Super Bowl MVP-winning friend this summer.

The 24-year-old quarterback from Naperville, Ill., hopes he’ll be too busy in Winnipeg as a member of the Blue Bombers.

Thorne, along with Terry Wilson, Taylor Elgersma and Bryce Perkins, are battling for the second- and third-string roles behind starting pivot Zach Collaros.

Thorne, a four-year college starter between Michigan State and Auburn, first got scouts talking in 2021 as a sophomore when he led the Spartans to an 11-2 record alongside star running back Kenneth Walker III.

Bombers QB Elgersma not exactly your typical rookie

A little snowfall in May wasn’t going to spoil the opening day of Blue Bombers rookie camp for Taylor Elgersma.

“To be here for the first time looking around this place, it’s beautiful. What more can you ask for?” said the 24-year-old quarterback out of Wilfrid Laurier.

“You gotta love it, that’s what we play this game for. I think if you can play well in the cold, then you can take advantage of people and I think I do it well. It’s nice to get out here in the fresh air today and let it fly.”

He certainly did let it fly on Wednesday, showcasing why the Green Bay Packers went against the norm and brought the U Sports product to training camp a year ago.

‘Seeing how much the Winnipeg community gets around their football’

Bryce Perkins isn’t taking the easy route.

The 2025 United Football League MVP and Offensive Player of the Year could’ve stayed down south and started somewhere in the spring league, but instead, the 29-year-old quarterback is in Winnipeg starting from scratch.

“My dad (Bruce Perkins, a former fullback) played for Hamilton, so he was telling me about the CFL. They love their football up here and that’s kind of what you want to play for,” said Perkins after Day 1 of Blue Bombers rookie camp at Princess Auto Stadium.

“I just felt like where I’m at in my career, for a career-wise goal in whatever these next couple years hold, I want to be a part of a league, a team, an organization that really gets behind football. It’s a longstanding league that loves ball, the guys are great, and it’s a fun, new challenge for me as well.”

An off-season primer ahead of Bombers’ rookie camp opening

THE Winnipeg Blue Bombers are hoping that 2025 was nothing more than a bump in the road.

Going 10-8 and losing a hard-fought division semifinal might not be so bad in other markets, but excellence is expected around these parts after the Blue and Gold appeared in five consecutive Grey Cups from 2019-24.

The first step towards finding out if this year’s group are championship contenders or pretenders starts Wednesday with the opening of rookie camp. The veterans will report for training camp on Sunday.

To recap the past few months and to set the table for what lies ahead, here’s an early season preview for the Bombers.

No disguising motive in CFL playoff change

The CFL’s reasoning for changing its playoff format starting in 2027 boils down to one thing: money.

Blue Bombers spend to select tight end

Kyle Walters was going to do whatever it took to get his guy.

It was a hefty price to pay, and the type of move the Winnipeg Blue Bombers general manager doesn’t make, but he made an exception in Tuesday night’s CFL Draft to land tight end Dante Daniels.

The Bombers traded pick No. 13 and their second-round pick in 2027 to the Ottawa Redblacks to bump up three spots to select the six-foot-six, 271-pounder out of North Carolina State.

“It’s very rare. I don’t recall us ever jumping up,” said Walters in a Zoom call with reporters on Wednesday.

Oliveira not a fan of new playoff format

Brady Oliveira is not a fan of the CFL’s expanded playoff format that will come into effect in 2027.

Winnipeg’s Vaccaro first Bison to be drafted first overall

Over 250 people inside the Caboto Centre fell silent as Giordano Vaccaro’s phone started to ring.

Family, friends and members of the local football community sat on pins and needles, waiting to see who would be on the other end of a life-changing call to the Winnipeg offensive lineman.

As many had anticipated — and hoped — it was the team holding the first overall pick: the Ottawa Redblacks.

“You ready to be a Redblack?” asked Ottawa head coach and general manager Ryan Dinwiddie over FaceTime.