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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers got a head start on free agency, reaching a verbal agreement with Shea Patterson, the former Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback.

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They’ll make the deal official on Tuesday, when players with expiring contracts become free.

Patterson, 28, joins starter Zach Collaros, returning backups Chris Streveler and Terry Wilson, along with late-2024 acquisition Jake Dolegala in the competition for jobs this year.

Bring it on, says Streveler.

“If I was nervous about competition or worried about having to compete… I would never have made it out of Year 1,” Streveler said. “This is the world we live in. It’s a dog-eat-dog world. You go out there, you compete, you earn what you get and there’s nothing handed to you. I’m excited about that.”

Patterson completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 1,655 yards, with six touchdowns and five interceptions last season.

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He ran 38 times for another 134 yards and seven touchdowns.

The Bombers have lost more than they’ve added this off-season, though, two hits coming at the receiver position: Drew Wolitarsky was let go and signed by Hamilton, while Kenny Lawler’s deal with the Tiger-Cats is expected to be made official on Tuesday.

Lawler had agreed to the deal early in the free-agent negotiating window, but when the CFL announced an increase in the salary cap there was hope in some quarters, most notably from Collaros, the Bombers might revisit their offer.

That ship has sailed.

Streveler says losing one of his best friends in Wolitarsky isn’t easy.

“I can’t sugarcoat, man,” he said. “It’s very disappointing, very hard for me knowing what he’s got on his plate, with a family. It’s scary when you get that call and you’re getting cut.”

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Streveler says he quickly called Wolitarsky to help him through it, using his own experience of losing jobs in the NFL.

“You stay in football long enough, it’s going to happen. He’s going to be missed from a leadership perspective just as much as anything he contributed on the field. But, ultimately, this train keeps rolling with or without us so you keep playing football. You keep your head down.”

Lawler, too, leaves a big hole, Streveler acknowledged, the leadership part of which he can try to help fill.

It’s been an off-season of change for the Bombers, as they’ve also decided not to re-sign linebacker Adam Bighill and seen several other players agree to deals elsewhere, including corner Tyrell Ford, O-lineman Liam Dobson and D-lineman Celestin Haba.

On the bright side, Streveler says, change and fresh energy can be rejuvenating.

“You go to five straight Cups, you lose three… that’s hard and you need some fresh juice in there to bring a fresh perspective,” he said. “Because it can’t just be the same thing over and over again.”

paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca

X: @friesensunmedia

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