It is a story with so many riveting chapters – and still so many seemingly yet to be written.
It’s also a story which has certainly already become part of Winnipeg’s sporting folklore, along with being one of the most influential and important in the long and storied history of the Blue Bombers.
Everyone knows by now the details surrounding Zach Collaros’ arrival at the trade deadline in October of 2019. Traded twice that season – first by Saskatchewan, and then by Toronto to Winnipeg – and with his career seemingly in question, all the veteran quarterback has done since then is eliminate any doubt about his playing ability and his significance in leading the franchise to three straight Grey Cup appearances, with the back-to-back wins in 2019 and 2021.
And his 2022 season – save for the Grey Cup, like everyone else still feeling the hurt from that day – was nothing short of sensational. The Collaros story – ‘The Zach Attack’ – comes in at #3 in our Top 5 Blue Bombers ’22 in Review series.
Collaros was at the helm of an attack that helped drive the team to a franchise-record 15-3 mark and led the Canadian Football League with 37 touchdown passes in the process while setting a career best with 4,183 passing yards. As a result, he also became the second Blue Bombers player to win the Most Outstanding Player Award in consecutive years after Dieter Brock in 1980-81.
He also became just the fifth player in CFL history to win the MOP award in consecutive seasons after Brock, Jackie Parker (Edmonton, 1957-58), Doug Flutie (1991-94 and 1996-97) and Anthony Calvillo (2008-09).
“This is an amazing accolade and it’s not lost on me the history of the league, the people that have won it and the people who have been fortunate to win it two times or two times in a row,” Collaros said on awards night during Grey Cup week. “And to be even mentioned with any of those people is crazy to me.
“I can’t do my job at a high level if the other guys aren’t. You share all those moments, and you share the victories and the losses and working hard together. I think everybody should be recognized and win awards like this. ’Embarrassing’ is the wrong word… but what it’s all about is winning and we’ve done a lot of that in the past.”
There’s so much to like about Collaros beyond his game and, in many ways, his fierce competitiveness-meets-overwhelming humility mirrors that of his head coach, Mike O’Shea.
All of that and then some was expressed by his teammates before the Grey Cup, with Drew Wolitarsky capturing the many elements that make Collaros special with this:
“He’s a man of the people. And he’s like an old soul. He’s grandpa. He’s the over-watcher and makes sure everyone’s good. That’s his disposition. He doesn’t just play quarterback, that’s who he is, and he brings it into his life.”
All of this is why getting his name on a three-year contract extension in mid-October was so massive, not just for what he brings to the field and the locker room, but against the backdrop of the ever-changing quarterback landscape in the CFL – and especially as it looks right now.
B.C.’s Nathan Rourke has drawn a ton of NFL interest, Bo Levi Mitchell’s rights were traded from Calgary to Hamilton, leaving Tiger-Cats QB Dane Evans in limbo. Same goes for Cody Fajardo, likely ex of Saskatchewan, with Toronto’s McLeod Bethel-Thompson apparently contemplating retirement and Montreal’s Trevor Harris currently a pending free agent along with Nick Arbuckle and Caleb Evans in Ottawa.
That’s a whole lot of uncertainty across the league at the most important position. Collaros isn’t just the two-time reigning MOP, he’s also locked up through the 2025 season.
Again… a last-second trade brought him here and now the fit seems so absolutely perfect.
“I love the environment. I love the city, the community,” Collaros said upon signing his contract extension. “But, again, this organization – from Wade (Miller, President & CEO), on through Osh and the coaches and then just the guys in the locker room – some of these guys have become best friends to me. These guys have the same mentality; they want to be here and try to continue on in our success.
“… I’m just happy to get (the contract) done and to have the opportunity to be around these people for a longer period of time.”
