Winnipeg Blue Bombers rule out QB Zach Collaros for Friday with head injury

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will once again be without their number one quarterback on Friday.

The Bombers have already ruled out quarterback Zach Collaros for their week 17 matchup against the Toronto Argonauts after he missed a third straight day of practice.

Collaros suffered a head injury in the second half of their Banjo Bowl win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders nearly two weeks ago. He has a history of concussions and clearly the Bombers are playing it safe with one of their most valuable players as he’ll miss his fifth game of the season.

“Not frustrating,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea told reporters on Wednesday. “I mean, that’s something probably for him to talk about not me.

“This is the same thing we talk about with anybody. This is why we have teammates because they have an opportunity now to just step in and honour a guy who can’t play. And everybody understands when they’re out, all the guys around, the teammates, all understand how badly guys want to play, right. It stinks being out, so, it’s just another opportunity for guys to step up.”

The Bombers will look to rally around Dru Brown who will now get the start instead. It’ll be his fifth start of the season since being re-acquired from the Ottawa RedBlacks. The trade is paying dividends now for the Blue and Gold and the team has the utmost confidence in Brown to lead them to a win after he went 2-2 as a starter in his first four starts in 2026.

“They saw how hard he worked when he was here as a young guy learning the game,” said O’Shea. “And they know that continued. Wherever he was gonna go, he was still gonna put in that work.  Years ago, we just called it, he was a football junkie, right. Him and Zach would be up all night texting each other plays and thoughts about the opponent and whatever else.

“The guy comes back – he’s the same guy. For the guys that didn’t know him, they see a starting caliber quarterback that has a calm demeanor and good control and runs an offence.”

The Bombers also won’t have defensive back Michael Griffin in the lineup this week as he continues to be out after missing the past five games with an ankle injury. Running back Brady Oliveira (ankle) and receiver Nic Demski (ankle) both missed Wednesday’s closed practice, but both are still available to play on Friday.

Stanley Bryant (ankle), Cam Lawson (foot), and De’Shaan Dixon (hip) are also available after practicing in full in their final session of the week.

The Bombers host the Argos at Princess Auto Stadium Friday with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.