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HAMILTON – Wynton McManis will finally make his Hamilton Tiger-Cats debut.
The veteran center fielder will be in the lineup on Sunday when Hamilton (2-1) hosts the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1-2). McManis joined the Ticats in the off-season as a free agent after four seasons with the rival Toronto Argonauts but was sidelined by a fractured bone in his knee.
He is listed behind Canadian Ryan Baker on the depth chart.
Baker performed well in McManis’ absence, recording 16 tackles. But Hamilton head coach Scott Milanovich said McManis, a three-time Gray Cup champion, has a tendency to make big plays in important moments.
“(With) Wynton, there was just an intangible agreement there, an instinctive agreement,” Milanovich said. “Bake also has instincts… but he (McManis) always had the ability to find the ball, get big sacks when you had to and throw interceptions (and) he usually scored when he got them.
“He is a player I have always respected.”
McManis, 31, had 62 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble in 13 regular-season games with Toronto last season. The six-foot, 220-pound American recorded 390 tackles, 52 special teams tackles, 16 sacks, nine interceptions and four forced fumbles while scoring three defensive touchdowns in 100 CFL regular season games across his career with Calgary (2017-19) and Toronto (2022-25).
All-star cornerback Jamal Peters also returns for Hamilton, who will be off for another week. He suffered a head injury during the Ticats’ 37–27 win over Winnipeg on June 11.
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Winnipeg starter Zach Collaros threw for 421 yards with two TDs and one interception versus Hamilton. But the Bombers rushed for just 49 yards on 14 attempts while Canada’s Brady Oliveira rushed for 32 yards on eight carries.
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Mllanovich doesn’t expect Winnipeg to test McManis on Sunday, especially through the air.
“I knew better than to attack Wynton in the passing game,” Milanovich said. “I’ve tried it before and it didn’t work very well.
“I’m sure they’ll try to run the football, that’s their MO. Depending on what the weather looks like on Sunday, we’ll see (but) I haven’t tested (McManis) in the passing game.”
Ticats starter Bo Levi Mitchell was a tidy 19-of-24 passing for 287 yards and three TDs versus Winnipeg while former Bomber Keric Wheatfall had three catches for 102 yards. Larry Rountree III rushed for 124 yards on 23 carries.
“I don’t think we had the best tackles so that would be a good start,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea told reporters in Winnipeg this week regarding the first meeting with Hamilton. “Everyone wants the coverage to be tighter, but I don’t think it’s bad… then again fouls are quite rampant at the moment.
“We should probably take a step closer and try to disrupt things more.”
Winnipeg comes in having lost two games in a row while Hamilton is on a winning streak. The Ticats’ other win was a 41-27 decision over the BC Lions (0-3 coming into action this week) but Milanovich isn’t stressing either club’s early season record.
“I have a lot of respect for their (Winnipeg) players, their coaches, their championship pedigree,” he said. “I don’t think their record shows what their potential will be.
“All of those things will sort themselves out by the end of the season and usually teams that you think are going to be good but aren’t good have a lot of players injured along the way. Only time will tell, but I don’t see any of those teams (Winnipeg, BC) as below-average teams.”
Hamilton center Liam Dobson, who began his CFL career in Winnipeg (2022-24), said the Bombers will look to continue their winning ways.
“I know they’re a very well-coached group, I have a lot of respect for everyone in that building,” he said. “They’re going to come out and play super hard, play super physical because they want to get back in the win column.
“Ultimately we have to match that energy. We have to come out and play as physically, or even more physically, than them.”
Mitchell has been outstanding in Hamilton’s last two games, having completed 34 of 42 passes (80.9 percent) for 572 yards with eight touchdowns and no interceptions. He completed six completions of 30 yards or more and compiled a perfect efficiency rating of 158.3.
Mitchell is just the eighth CFL quarterback to post consecutive perfect ratings and the first since Toronto’s Ricky Ray in 2013. Hamilton is 14-5 since ’18 and has won six of its last seven home games against Winnipeg.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 4, 2026.
© 2026 Canadian Press
