Former Green Bay Packers QB has eventful professional debut with an intriguing immediate future
Taylor Elgersma shined with the Green Bay Packers during training camp last year, and he got a chance to make his professional debut.
Sunday night for both the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats didn’t go the way either team wanted it to. Both starting quarterbacks, Zach Collaros and Bo Levi Mitchell, went down with game-ending injuries.
“Think about the league. Two premier starting quarterbacks going down in the same game is not good for the league,” said Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea. “So, hopefully both guys make a speedy recovery. Bo was on a heater, and the league needs that.”
For the Blue Bombers, Collaros was sacked on a second-down blitz by linebacker Reggie Stubblefield, suffering an injury described as an upper body injury.
Taylor Elgersma gets first game action in relief of Zach Collaros
Once Collaros went down at the beginning of the second quarter, he looked banged up, but we didn’t know for sure how hurt he was. Collaros didn’t return to the game, which meant the CFL debut of Wilfrid Laurier product Taylor Elgersma, who was a fourth-round CFL Draft selection of the Blue Bombers in 2025.
It was also the first time since 1969 that two players from Canada’s U Sports took snaps at quarterback.
Even with the injury, Elgersma was ready for his opportunity.
“You never want to see anyone get hurt, but especially two star players, two Hall of Famers in this league,” said Elgersma after the game. “And obviously, when Zach goes down, my mindsets on getting ready.”
Elgersma didn’t look uncomfortable under center, but you could certainly tell it was either his first or one of his first appearances.
“I thought he took care of the football very well, made good decisions, and everybody’s going to want to have a play back, not just Taylor,” said O’Shea. “Everybody’s going to have one; they can write down what they want. As far as Taylor goes, I’m excited for him. I thought he handled himself very well. I thought there’s some conditions that happen in the game that can make it even tougher, and I thought he battled through.”
Even with the confidence from himself and Coach O’Shea, you could tell the training wheels were still on for Elgersma. He finished 11-15 for 86 yards and a 31-yard jet pass touchdown to Pokey Wilson to cut the lead to 13-11. Then, on the final drive, he completed just one pass for six yards to wide receiver Gavin Cobb, while running back Brady Olivera ran seven times for 44 yards.
It’s evident that Elgersma is the future of the Blue Bombers, but there are real questions about whether or not he is ready to potentially be the guy if Collaros misses time.
“I don’t know anything about either one right now,” said O’Shea about the health of both quarterbacks.
It’s a short week for the Blue Bombers, as they host the Toronto Argonauts on Friday afternoon. Plus, there is the lingering element of Dru Brown, who the Blue Bombers traded for just two weeks ago.
“I just thought that was the right decision,” said O’Shea about not dressing Brown on Sunday night. “I wouldn’t want to put him in there and have him have anything less than a full playbook, so I thought that gave us our best chance to win.”
Brown does have a lot of experience with the Blue Bombers and offensive coordinator Tommy Condell, who was with him during his time with the Ottawa Redblacks. Even if Elgersma doesn’t end up starting against the Argonauts, it’s evident that he’s got the goods to develop.
