Offensive lineman Patrick Neufeld has seen plenty of turnover during his 11 seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and expects to see a little more than usual this offseason.
“The nature of the business and the way that the world is and the economy is, guys are gonna try and make as much money as they can now. Things aren’t getting cheaper. I go to Costco and I get 12 things and it’s like 400 bucks. I’m like, ‘What is happening here?’ But that’s a decision on a personal level that guys have to reconcile with,” Neufeld told reporters on Monday.
“The difference between 10 and 20 grand after taxes — and the comforts of what we do with our team — is probably negligible. But if you’re looking at 50, 60, 70 (thousand), sometimes more (to sign elsewhere in free agency), that’s a lot of money. So, ultimately, that relies on if you have a family, or if you’re a single guy, or whatever position you are in life. I feel like just this offseason, maybe we see a little bit more change with the team, probably because of that notion.”
Though key players like Neufeld, Stanley Bryant, and Tony Jones have already signed back for another year, several of Winnipeg’s starters remain pending free agents, including Kenny Lawler, Dalton Schoen, Liam Dobson, Willie Jefferson, Tyrell Ford, and Evan Holm. With free agency set to get underway on Tuesday, Feb. 11, that leaves a little over a month for the team to retain its core in pursuit of a sixth-straight Grey Cup appearance.
The Blue Bombers are also without an offensive coordinator as Buck Pierce was hired away to become the head coach of the B.C. Lions. He also brought with him receivers coach Kevin Bourgoin, who made a lateral move to join Winnipeg’s west coast rivals.
“It hurts losing Buck like that and losing [Bourgois] because it’s consistency and a huge part of this game is consistency and trust in what you’re doing,” said Neufeld, who hopes to remain in the CFL as a coach or personnel person once his playing days are done.
“But, ultimately, I have faith in our football operations to get quality people in, great teachers, great football minds that are gonna put us on the right path. When that happens, we’ll get right into our scheme and start learning it as quick as possible so we can hit the ground running in training camp.”
Late last week, 3DownNation contacted several possible candidates for Winnipeg’s vacant offensive coordinator position, none of whom have been contacted by the team regarding an interview. One potential candidate said he’s heard O’Shea likes to take the hiring process slowly, which seems accurate based on recent history.
Pierce wasn’t officially promoted to offensive coordinator until Jan. 21, 2020, which was six weeks after Paul LaPolice departed to become the head coach of the Ottawa Redblacks. We’re fast approaching the anniversary of last year’s coaching shakeup, however, when Jordan Younger and Mike Miller took on new roles as defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator, respectively, on Jan. 8, 2024.
Though Neufeld finished strong this past season, there’s no question that he and the rest of Winnipeg’s offensive line struggled out of the gate, which contributed to the team’s 2-6 start. The Regina, Sask. native had a knee injury throughout training camp and even briefly filed his retirement papers to free up a roster spot. He was able to dress for the team’s first eight games but didn’t resemble the All-CFL selection he’d been the previous three years.
“It was one of those things that just took time,” said Neufeld. “I was pressing as much as I could and we have an unbelievable therapy staff where they work their tails off to make sure that you can get back the right way — not just get you back on the field for the sake of getting you back on the field, but making sure you’re confident in yourself and confident in your abilities to go and perform at the highest level.”
Neufeld ended up sitting out all of August before returning for the final six games of the regular season, helping the Blue Bombers finish first in the West Division at 11-7. The offensive line that was poor out of the gate was excellent during the playoffs, allowing one sack and helping Brady Oliveira average 6.5 yards per carry over two games, though Winnipeg came up short in the Grey Cup for the third straight season.
The six-foot-five, 300-pound blocker isn’t looking at the upcoming season as his swan song, as he remains open to playing beyond 2025. He did admit, however, that his play has started to decline at least slightly, suggesting he’s somewhere in the 90-99 percent range of what was once his peak. Neufeld, who turned 36 last month, has played 168 career CFL regular season games and made 129 starts, so it’s clear he’s nearing the end.
One of the big factors in his decision to return was the possibility of playing in the Grey Cup at home. Winnipeg is set to host the CFL’s championship game for the first time since 2015 later this year and it would mean a lot for Neufeld, who has long since made the city his year-round home, to play in it.
“Grey Cup is the only goal you have as an organization, I think in every CFL team — whether it’s spoken about or not — ultimately, that’s your goal. Just having it at home in Winnipeg in our stadium, it just means a little bit more knowing you have to earn the opportunity to go play in that game and I couldn’t imagine a better way to cap your season off with winning a Grey Cup at home,” said Neufeld.
“I think that’s going to be a big draw for a lot of guys to want to come back and play and have the opportunity to compete to play in that game. It’s a long, long season, a lot of things happen, but I think you have to kind of put that in the back of your mind and use it as a little bit of motivation.”
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