2021 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season

The 2021 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season was the 63rd season for the team in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and their 88th season overall. The Blue Bombers entered the season as the defending Grey Cup champions for the first time in 30 years, having ended the franchise's lengthy drought with last year's championship win in the 107th Grey Cup game. The Blue Bombers qualified for the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season following a victory over the Edmonton Elks on October 16, 2021.[1] The team won their first division title since 2011, and first west division title since 1972, after they defeated the BC Lions on October 23, 2021.[2]

2021 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season
General managerKyle Walters
Head coachMike O'Shea
Home fieldIG Field
Results
Record11–3
Division place1st, West
Playoff finishWon Grey Cup
Team MOPZach Collaros
Team MODPAdam Bighill
Team MOCNic Demski
Team MOOLStanley Bryant
Team MOSTMike Miller
Team MORDeAundre Alford
Uniform

The Blue Bombers won the 12th Grey Cup championship in franchise history following their 33–25 overtime victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 108th Grey Cup game.

This was the seventh season under head coach Mike O'Shea and the seventh full season under general manager Kyle Walters.[3]

An 18-game season schedule was originally released on November 20, 2020, but it was announced on April 21, 2021 that the start of the season would likely be delayed until August and feature a 14-game schedule.[4][5] On June 15, 2021, the league released the revised 14-game schedule with regular season play beginning on August 5, 2021.[6]

Offseason

CFL Global Draft

The 2021 CFL Global Draft took place on April 15, 2021.[7][8] With the format being a snake draft, the Blue Bombers selected fourth in the odd-numbered rounds and sixth in the even-numbered rounds.[7]

Round Pick Player Position University/Club Team Nationality
14Les MaruoLBTexas, San AntonioJapan Japan
215Tomoya MachinoOLFujitsu FrontiersJapan Japan
322Ayo OyelolaLBNottinghamUnited Kingdom Great Britain
433Arryn SipossPAuburnAustralia Australia

CFL National Draft

The 2021 CFL Draft took place on May 4, 2021.[9][10] The Blue Bombers had six selections in the six-round snake draft and had the third pick in odd rounds and the seventh pick in even rounds.[10][11]

Round Pick Player Position University Team Hometown
13Liam DobsonOLMaineOttawa, ON
216Redha KramdiDBMontrealMontreal, QC
321Patrice ReneDBNorth CarolinaOttawa, ON
434Robbie LowesLBReginaRegina, SK
539Kyle BorsaRBReginaRegina, SK
648Shae WeekesDBManitobaSt. Adolphe, MB

Preseason

Due to the shortening of the season, the CFL confirmed that pre-season games would not be played in 2021.[6]

Planned schedule
Week Game Date Kickoff Opponent TV Venue
A Bye
B 1 Fri, May 28 7:30 p.m. CDT vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders NA IG Field
C 2 Fri, June 4 8:00 p.m. CDT at Saskatchewan Roughriders NA Mosaic Stadium

[12]

Regular season

Standings
West Division
Team GP W L T Pts PF PA Div Stk
Winnipeg Blue Bombers141130223511878–1L2Details
Saskatchewan Roughriders14950182902855–4L1Details
Calgary Stampeders14860163152636–4W3Details
BC Lions14590103133512–7W1Details
Edmonton Elks14311062463772–7L1Details

Schedule

The Blue Bombers initially had a schedule that featured 18 regular season games beginning on June 10 and ending on October 30.[4] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the Canadian Football League delayed the start of the regular season to August 5, 2021 and the Blue Bombers began their 14-game season that same day.[6]

Week Game Date Kickoff Opponent Results TV Venue Attendance Summary
Score Record
1 1 Thu, Aug 5 7:30 p.m. CDT Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 19–6 1–0 TSN/ESPN2 IG Field 29,376 Recap
2 2 Fri, Aug 13 7:30 p.m. CDT Toronto Argonauts W 20–7 2–0 TSN/RDS IG Field 22,143 Recap
3 3 Sat, Aug 21 3:00 p.m. CDT @ Toronto Argonauts L 23–30 2–1 TSN/ESPN2 BMO Field 9,866 Recap
4 4 Sun, Aug 29 6:00 p.m. CDT Calgary Stampeders W 18–16 3–1 TSN/RDS/ESPN2 IG Field 22,806 Recap
5 5 Sun, Sept 5 5:00 p.m. CDT @ Saskatchewan Roughriders W 23–8 4–1 TSN/ESPNews Mosaic Stadium 32,975 Recap
6 6 Sat, Sept 11 3:00 p.m. CDT Saskatchewan Roughriders W 33–9 5–1 TSN IG Field 33,234 Recap
7 7 Sat, Sept 18 8:45 p.m. CDT @ Edmonton Elks W 37–22 6–1 TSN Commonwealth Stadium 23,310 Recap
8 Bye
9 8 Fri, Oct 1 9:00 p.m. CDT @ BC Lions W 30–9 7–1 TSN/ESPNews BC Place 12,500 Recap
10 9 Fri, Oct 8 7:30 p.m. CDT Edmonton Elks W 30–3 8–1 TSN/RDS2 IG Field 27,388 Recap
11 10 Fri, Oct 15 8:00 p.m. CDT @ Edmonton Elks W 23–16 9–1 TSN Commonwealth Stadium 24,276 Recap
12 11 Sat, Oct 23 6:00 p.m. CDT BC Lions W 45–0 10–1 TSN IG Field 23,750 Recap
13 Bye
14 12 Sat, Nov 6 6:00 p.m. CDT Montreal Alouettes W 31–21 11–1 TSN/RDS IG Field 22,933 Recap
15 13 Sat, Nov 13 12:00 p.m. CST @ Montreal Alouettes L 14–28 11–2 TSN/RDS Molson Stadium 12,605 Recap
16 14 Sat, Nov 20 6:00 p.m. CST @ Calgary Stampeders L 12–13 11–3 TSN McMahon Stadium 19,103 Recap

[13][14][15]

Post-season

Schedule
Game Date Kickoff Opponent Results TV Venue Attendance Summary
Score Record
West Semi-Final Bye
West Final Sun, Dec 5 3:00 p.m. CST Saskatchewan Roughriders W 21–17 1–0 TSN/RDS/ESPN2 IG Field 31,160 Recap
108th Grey Cup Sun, Dec 12 5:00 p.m. CST Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 33–25 (OT) 2–0 TSN/RDS/ESPN2 Tim Hortons Field 26,324 Recap

[12]

Team

Roster
Winnipeg Blue Bombers roster
Quarterbacks

Receivers

Running backs

Fullbacks

Offensive linemen

 Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

 Special teams

1-Game Injured List

6-Game Injured List

 Practice Roster

Suspended

Italics indicate American player • Bold indicates Global player • 45 Active, 10 Injured, 14 Practice, 1 Suspended
Roster updated 2021-12-12 • Depth chart Archived 2009-11-25 at the Wayback Machine • Transactions • More CFL rosters

Coaching staff
Winnipeg Blue Bombers staff
Front office
  • Owner – None
  • Chairperson of the board of governors – Dayna Spiring
  • President/CEO – Wade Miller
  • General manager of football operations – Kyle Walters
  • Assistant General Manager / Director of U.S. Scouting – Danny McManus
  • Assistant general manager / director of player personnel – Ted Goveia
  • Director of football operations – Matt Gulakow

Equipment staff

  • Head equipment manager – Brad Fotty
  • Assistant equipment manager – Kevin Todd
  

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks – Buck Pierce
  • Receivers – Kevin Bourgoin
  • Running backs – Pete Costanza
  • Offensive line – Marty Costello

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams coordinator – Paul Boudreau, Jr.

Video coaches

  • Video coordinator – Colin Thurston
  • Video assistant – Shannon Myran

→ Coaching Staff Archived 2017-04-27 at the Wayback Machine
→ More CFL staffs

References
  1. "Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs Edmonton Elks". Canadian Football League. October 16, 2021.
  2. "BC Lions vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers". Canadian Football League. October 23, 2021.
  3. "Canadian Mafia sticking together". Winnipeg Blue Bombers. December 13, 2019.
  4. "Divisional games take centre stage in unique 2021 schedule". Canadian Football League. November 20, 2020.
  5. "CFL Announces Plans To Return-to-play For 2021 Season". Canadian Football League. April 21, 2021.
  6. "Circle your calendars: CFL releases 2021 schedule". Canadian Football League. June 15, 2021.
  7. "CFL calendar busy with free agency, virtual combines, drafts". Canadian Football League. February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  8. "2021 Global Draft tracker". Canadian Football League. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  9. "CFL announces date for 2021 CFL National Draft". cfl.ca. Canadian Football League. March 30, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  10. "2021 CFL Draft to feature some significant changes". CFL.ca. November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  11. "Ti-Cats snag first selection as CFL reveals 2021 order". CFL.ca. November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  12. "2021 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Schedule". Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  13. "2021 Schedule". Canadian Football League. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  14. "Le football de la LCF de retour sur RDS dès le samedi 7 août" (in French). Canadian Football League. August 3, 2021.
  15. "ESPN Networks, ESPN+ to carry entire 2021 CFL season". Canadian Football League. August 4, 2021.
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