WINNIPEG, MB., – The Winnipeg Blue Bombers today announce the club has agreed to terms with all-star quarterback Zach Collaros on a one-year contract extension. He was scheduled to become a free agent next month.
Collaros (6-0, 222; University of Cincinnati; born: August 27, 1988 in Steubenville, OH) returns in 2022 for a third season with the Blue Bombers and his 10th in the Canadian Football League.
The 2021 campaign was a memorable one for Collaros, as he helped guide his squad to a second consecutive Grey Cup championship while being named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player, the Blue Bombers Most Outstanding Player as well as earning West Division and CFL All-Star honours.
He was also named the MVP of the 108th Grey Cup after a 33-25 overtime victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. In the process, he became the first Blue Bombers quarterback to lead the club to consecutive Grey Cup championships since Ken Ploen in 1961-62.
Collaros led the CFL in passing touchdowns this past season with 20 and posted a league-best quarterback efficiency rating of 111.0, while his 3,185 passing yards ranked second. Most importantly, the club’s record was 11-2 in games Collaros started in the regular season and he is now 17-2 overall in starts for the Bombers dating back to his arrival in 2019 and including the Grey Cup victory that November.
The Bombers acquired Collaros on October 9, 2019 in a trade with the with the Toronto Argonauts that also netted Winnipeg a fifth-round 2020 draft pick in exchange for a third-round selection in 2020 and a conditional first-round pick that same year. That selection was officially granted to the Argos in January of 2020 when Collaros signed a two-year extension with the Blue Bombers.
Collaros led the Bombers to a 4-0 record in 2019, winning his debut in the club’s regular season finale before the run to the Grey Cup that also included victories in the Western Semi-Final and Western Final, all this after having been traded twice during the year; first from Saskatchewan to Toronto, then from the Argos to Winnipeg.
Collaros first signed in the CFL with the Argos in 2012 and has since appeared in 105 regular season games with Toronto, Hamilton, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg. He has a 46-34 record as a starter in his career and has thrown for 20,164 yards with 114 touchdowns against 58 interceptions.
