Greg Ellingson inks one-year deal with Blue Bombers

WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have signed receiver Greg Ellingson to a one-year contract, the team announced on Tuesday.


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.cfl.ca/2022/02/08/greg-ellingson-inks-one-year-deal-blue-bombers/

Not going to complain about this signing. Never would have guessed it though.

I'm sure Greg has lots still left to contribute. Shame he had to move on, but EE seems intent on cleaning house. Should take some on the sting out for Winnipeg if they lose Lawler.

Some, but we lost Lawler & Adams. So it still will sting no matter what. Can’t upgrade every position though.

True. And receivers and running backs are much easier to replace than QB’s, Olineman and Jeffersoncoats.

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Not that easy, Jon. Lawler was an outlier. In full seasons the past 4 the top Bomber receivers were

2019 Lawler (rank 24th) 637 yds
2018 Adams (rank 8th) 1028. Next best Harris 857
2017 Adams (rank 9th) 1120 Next best Wolitarsky 650
2016 Dressler (rank 15th) 1003 Next best Denmark 705

Adams has been OK. I’m not prepared to say Lawler will be as good this year as last at this point. Ellingson is a quality replacement. But whatever you think about finding DB’s, receivers OTOH hasn’t been Winnipeg’s strong point. It should be noted that all of your leaders the past 4 full seasons are gone. While Harris was there he took up a lot of the targets. With Nichols it was a run, dump & run heavy offence. That started to change with Collaros. The team that has been very success digging up good receivers - the Elks with Walker, Zylstra, Duke Williams, Mitchell. They took top spot receiving 5 out of 6 years from 2013-18. Calgary also has been very good in this area. Bombers, sorry, not so much.

I think the identity of the team plays a roll in that. Bombers have historically put more emphasis on running the ball, so ofcourse our Wr’s won’t stand out.
Basic math tells you its easier to find WRs than QB’s.

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Of course - what was I thinking? Lawler should easily be replaced. Take away Duke from Saskatchewan, Begelton from Calgary, Burnham from BC & plug & play - no problem. In 2019 the top non-QB paid player in the CFL was Walker @ $275K. The top 2 this year are likely going to be Lawler & Duke. Pretty similar salaries. What is it that teams don’t know that we do? Is there a reason that an OL National doesn’t get paid more than an import receiver, an import DE doesn’t get paid more than an import receiver?

LOL, you switch pretty quick.
No one is saying he won’t be missed. Ofcourse that is looking thin for us right now. I just don’t think you need to suggest we suck at finding WR’s.

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Whoa, whoa Blue. I’m not saying you suck. I’m saying that it’s not that easy to find receivers. There are teams who have been really good at finding talent there. You can’t tell me that the Bombers rank up there with either the Elks or Stamps. And, please note. I complemented your team on getting a decent replacement. IMO Ellingson will work out fine there.

Andrew Harris signed by Toronto
"Stove" Richardson signed by BC
Mike Jones signed by Montreal
Lawler & Tobi signed by Edmonton
Adams signed by Ottawa

Please make it stop....

Really none of these are a surprise....
We have a few holes to fill now.... Lawler, Richardson and to a lesser extent Jones

Can agree there. I think as long as both Bailey & Ellingson push each othet for 1000, we’ll be OK. I still hope we can find another breakout player there.

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I agree that the Bombers over the last several years haven’t had the best receivers and never said that they did, other than last year. It appears that they won the GC in 2019 with only the 24th best receiver. So it does not appear that receivers have much of a bearing on who ultimately wins the championship. I have always made it clear that, in my opinion, whoever dominates the lines is most likely to win. The Bombers have done that two years in a row and looked poised to do it again. They can go back to the well where they got Lawler and Bailey from and I am sure find someone decent. The difference to winning that a Lawler or Williams makes at receiver pales in comparison to the difference that an Oline or a Jeffersoncoat make.

In fact many Olineman and import Dlineman do get paid more than receivers. Just ask Jeffersoncoat and Burnham. The Bomber brass have made their decision and that is that other parts of their team, especially the lines, are more important than having the best wide receiver at an exorbitant price. I happen to agree with them and not just because I am a Bomber fan. This formula seems to have worked very well for them the last two seasons. Do we even know who will be throwing the football to Lawler this year?

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All more or less expected. The Bombers still retained an excellent core. The one I would have liked to see stay the most is the toaster oven ( remember his nickname was downgraded when he left).

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I agree completely. As the old cliche goes, you win in the trenches. The Bombers have clearly the best O and D lines in the league. Quarterbacks can’t throw from their backs. Well, they can I guess but not very well.

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