Dressler will be back
But Bombers need to still add more to receiving corps
Aside from their enigmatic defence, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ biggest need is at receiver.
When Darvin Adams went down late in the season, there was nobody who scared the opposition, nobody to draw extra attention downfield.
Given Weston Dressler’s age (32) and his inability to stay healthy, it wouldn’t have surprised many people if the Bombers had allowed Dressler to leave via free agency.
Yet there was Dressler on the other end of the telephone line from his home in Regina, Tuesday, having just signed a new one-year deal to come back to Winnipeg.
Even Dressler wasn’t always sure he’d be back.
“As soon as that playoff game was over, you start wondering,” Dressler said. “But our staff and the organization does a great job of communicating with the players. Having that conversation with Osh (coach Mike O’Shea) shortly after the season’s over and understanding that there’s interest kind of eases your mind.”
Dressler’s season ended with a bang, even as his team’s landed with a thud.
He caught nine passes for 114 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 39-32 loss to Edmonton, at home, in the CFL West semifinal, Winnipeg’s second straight quick playoff exit.
While the defence caved, it was also clear this team has to give quarterback Matt Nichols another weapon if it wants to get over that playoff hump.
“Hopefully we can add another impact player within the offence, in the receiving corps,” is how Dressler put it. “That would help us out and open up some other things. If you can get a guy that can flip the field and make those big plays … you can’t have too many of those.”
A 10-year CFL vet, Dressler is coming off his least productive season, due to two separate stints on the injured list.
Playing just 11 games — the lowest total of his career, not including the year he had an NFL tryout and played just nine with Saskatchewan — he managed 51 receptions for 651 yards and three touchdowns.
There seems to be a knock on Dressler’s durability that isn’t fully deserved.
He’s actually averaged 15 games per season over his career, which isn’t bad for a guy his size (listed at 5-foot-7, 168 pounds).
“I’ve never felt like injuries or missing a lot of time has been a big problem for me,” he said. “Really the last two years I’ve probably experienced the most time missed.”
Dressler played 14 of 18 games for the Bombers in 2016, his first year in blue and gold.
“Football’s a physical game and injuries are going to happen,” he continued. “For the most part I’ve been pretty lucky throughout my career, playing 10 years of professional football and never really experiencing any of those major, seasonending injuries that require months and months of rehab.”
The months and months of lamenting what might have been — that’s an offseason exercise the Bombers are getting far too good at.
So there’s a feeling for Dressler of having business to finish, both personally, by trying to play all 18 games, and as a team.
But since he was cut by the Riders following the 2015 season, there is no better place for the man who grew up just south of Manitoba in Bismarck, N.D.
His parents and both brothers still live there, and Dressler always has plenty of fans from back home at games in Winnipeg.
“My parents, I think, made it up for every home game last year,” Dressler said. “It’s pretty cool to be able to play that close to home and have so many different people come up to games. A lot of guys that live further south, those families don’t have those opportunities.”
Maybe the Bombers got a home-town discount with Dressler’s new deal.
He certainly didn’t have the clout at the negotiating table some of his teammates do. Key potential free agents remain, mostly on defence.
And while Dressler will no doubt remain a big piece of the offence, he’ll become a lesser piece, in his 11th season, if this organization is doing its job.