The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will be without one of their most important pieces on the offensive line when they face the BC Lions on Thursday.
All-star Jarell Broxton will miss their week nine matchup as he wasn’t quite ready after leaving their last game according to head coach Mike O’Shea. But Broxton shouldn’t be out for very long as he was only placed on the one-game injured list as opposed to the six-gamer due to a knee injury after just practicing on Tuesday.
QB Zach Collaros will miss the fourth straight game but all the other regulars who were questionable are listed on their active roster, including Stanley Bryant (knee), Nic Demski (ankle), Brady Oliveira (knee), and Nick Hallett (knee).
With Broxton sidelined, Micah Vanterpool will appear in his first game of the season to start at right tackle. The 27-year-old has played in eight games in the blue and gold over the last two seasons. He’s made six career starts including three at the tackle position. O’Shea sounded very confident in Broxton’s replacement.
“He is, once again, very athletic,” O’Shea told reports on Wednesday. “He’s certainly demonstrated some good focus. And he’s ready to go.”
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With Collaros still out, Dru Brown will get a fourth straight start at QB. He’s trying to shake off last week’s disastrous performance that saw him throw four interceptions in the loss to the Calgary Stampeders. For Brown, the short turnaround between games is perfect as he looks for a bounce back effort.
“Anytime you kind of lay an egg, the best thing to do is just get back out there,” Brown said. “You can say what you want about the rest, and this, that and the third, but for sure mentally, and just being able to get back out there and go play football again, it’s a blessing.”
Turnovers are becoming a serious concern for the Bombers again this season after coughing up the football six times last week alone. After giving up the second most turnovers in the CFL in 2025, the Bombers once again rank second last in turnovers with 16 through just seven games. O’Shea said that’s on him as the head coach.
“Some of those I’m responsible for, too,” he said. “I need to do a better job of coaching on the field in practice. I think that’s where it starts and ends.”
The Bombers made just two changes to their active roster. In addition to Vanterpool coming in for Broxton, linebacker Jaiden Woodbey comes off the six-game injured list after missing all but the first game with a calf injury. Defensive back Matthew Jackson goes back to the practice roster after taking a bad unnecessary roughness penalty in his CFL debut last week.
Rookie quarterback Kaidon Salter will make his first career CFL start for the West Division’s last place Lions who have just one win in six games this season.
Kickoff on Thursday is at 7:30 p.m. at Princess Auto Stadium.
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