Blue Bombers QB Zach Collaros appreciates concern, dismisses Milt Stegall's criticism over head injuries

Zach Collaros returned to practice with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Tuesday, giving him the first opportunity to publicly address concerns over the head injury he suffered in the Banjo Bowl that caused him to miss the team’s last two games.

“If I shouldn’t be out there, then I wouldn’t be out here,” Collaros told the media in Winnipeg. “Health is an ongoing conversation, obviously, so without being too inflammatory to address some of that stuff, I don’t pay attention to stuff outside the building.”

TSN analyst Milt Stegall, who spent his entire playing career with Winnipeg, suggested in the immediate aftermath of the Banjo Bowl that Collaros should never play football again. The veteran quarterback has a well-documented history of head injuries and missed time earlier this season due to a neck injury.

Collaros claims he doesn’t watch the TSN panel and didn’t read any of the articles written about his health, though he admitted that he was made aware of what Stegall said.

“I heard about that comment a couple days after from my wife. While I appreciated the concern — not just from Milt, but other people — it’s not like we make rash decisions in this building or with my family. There’s nobody who cares about me more than my wife — my children and my mom would probably beg to differ — but there’s nothing about playing the game and health that is made in a vacuum,” said Collaros.

“If you’re someone who’s followed the game for a long time, you know who I am specifically and you’ve seen me have to come out of games at times throughout my career. From a knee-jerk reaction standpoint, I can totally understand people’s concern with that, so I’m not upset about it at all, and I get it, while the same time, talking about my livelihood and how I do my life for my family is not really other people’s concern.”

The native of Steubenville, Ohio, who turned 37 last month, said his perspective on injuries have changed over time. He’s currently under contract with Winnipeg for 2026.

“As you get older, you understand the risks of different things no matter what the injury might be, and what you can and can’t play through for sure,” said Collaros. “As you get older, you get a little bit wiser.”

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7-7) will host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (9-5) at Princess Auto Stadium on Saturday afternoon with kickoff slated for 3:00 p.m. EDT. The Tiger-Cats defeated the Edmonton Elks last week with a walk-off field goal, while the Blue Bombers bested the Ottawa Redblacks despite completing only three passes.

The weather forecast in Winnipeg calls for a high of 22 degrees with sunny conditions. The game will be broadcast on TSN and CTV in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on the Ticats Audio Network and CJOB 680 in Winnipeg.

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