Winnipeg Blue Bombers' quarterback Zach Collaros personally enjoys playing against his former teams and recalls one game in particular against Saskatchewan.
"If I were to tell you the truth, in 2019 when I was traded, it was really sweet winning that game in the West Final, personally for me," Collaros said on the SportsCage. "If I had a lie detector on and tried to lie to you about that, that would be tough. But outside of that, I really love coming back to the city."
Collaros and the Bombers defeated the Riders in the 2019 West Final 20-13. Winnipeg went on to beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-12 in the 107th Grey Cup. The Blue Bombers repeated and beat the Ticats again, this time in overtime 33-25 in 2021. After that game, Collaros won the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player award. Following the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Collaros won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player award.
Before Collaros came to the CFL, he had a brief NFL stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012. That was followed by a two-year tenure with the Toronto Argonauts from 2012 to 2013. He won a Grey Cup with the Argos in his rookie CFL season. Following his time with the Argonauts, he spent time with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 2014 to 2017. The Ticats traded Collaros to the Riders for a second-round pick in the 2018 CFL Draft in January that year and he stay with the team until 2019. He had a second stint with the Argonauts in 2019 then went to the Bombers at the 2019 CFL trade deadline.
Around the Queen City, Green and White fans still appreciate Collaros' time with the Riders.
"Even the Grey Cup that we played here, unfortunately we lost that game. I wasn't even practicing with my ankle situation, but the team would be at practice and then I would be in the pool or walking around the downtown area and seeing all the people because I lived downtown too. Seeing old familiar faces, going to the Italian Star Deli, going into the Diplomat, going to Memories, Golfs, poking my head in saying 'Hello' to people was awesome," Collaros said. "It's always really cool for me because I have a history there. I was there not that long, but I liked being out and about in the city, saying hello, and people are so friendly there."
In 2025, the six-foot-one, 218-pound quarterback has started eight games for the Bombers, he has completed 75 percent of his passes for 1,806 yards with 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Besides still having motivation to win, the 37-year-old Collaros is happy to lend a helping hand to his teammates.
"Doing this for as long as I've been able to do — which I'm really fortunate for the relationships, whether it's with old friends in the locker room or new guys that we bring in — making sure that I can be that person to help bring them along and understanding the offence, understanding what we want the culture to be in the locker room," Collaros said. "Try to be the best teammate I can be, a leader, however you want to coin that term. To be that person who guys can learn from because this is a great game. I owe a lot of what my life is right now because of the CFL and this game. I want everybody to know how special it is to continue to help bring guys along."
The Bombers travel to the Queen City to take on the Riders in the 60th Labour Day Classic on Sunday. Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk, and Wes Cates bring you the pre-game show at 2 p.m. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the game call at 5 p.m. Listen or watch our thorough coverage at the 620 CKRM Co-operators Rider Broadcast Network.
