5 Things To Know | WPG @ BC
Kaidon Salter gets the start at quarterback on Friday against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Photo: Zachary Peters, BC Lions.
With their standing in the West Division and position in the 2026 Grey Cup Playoffs locked in, the BC Lions will look to accomplish two things in Friday’s regular season finale: staying sharp ahead of the real season, while ensuring all of their key pieces are ready to go for October 31.
The regular season finale sees them welcome the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who will approach this contest completely differently. Zach Collaros and the Bombers must win or their season is over. Add it all up and it’s certainly an ideal spot for the Lions to be in at this stage of the campaign. Lions fans will also get a shot to see a few new faces, as they will use this as an opportunity to evaluate some unknowns that have been on the practice roster. With more, we present our 5 Things To Know game preview.
Game 18: Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-9) at BC Lions (10-7).
Friday, October 23. 7:00 pm PT, Save-On-Foods Field at BC Place.
TV: Canada: TSN. Stream: CFL+ (U.S. & International).
Radio: 730 CKNW, Lions Audio Network, Sher-E-Punjab Radio AM 600 & SiriusXM 167 Canada Talks.
More Than A Pinch Of Salt: Lions Make Changes
The final roster for Friday night has nine total changes and even more when you factor in guys flipping around on the depth chart. The full version is below. As expected, Kaidon Salter, who torched the Bombers for a franchise-record 160 rushing yards by a Lions quarterback in a 35-19 win over these Bombers back in week nine, will start behind centre. He will look to improve on his relief appearance in Calgary last week, where he managed only seven completions on 13 attempts. Newcomer Chris Oladokun could see some relief duty as well, with Nathan Rourke dressing in an emergency role only. Other key changes include Emani Bailey at starting tailback; Zander Horvath dresses behind him; newly-signed Lorenzo Thompson getting the call at left tackle and Ivory Scott starting on the other side of the offensive line. James Butler, Justin McInnis and Keon Hatcher Sr. are among the other offensive starters not dressed. On the defensive side, Hayden Harris starts ahead of Mathieu Betts and Mac McCain gets his first CFL start in the secondary. They still want to end the regular season on a winning note. Doing so with promising newcomers in new roles will be some good icing on the cake ahead of the playoffs.
Lions Roster: Oct.23/2026
More on Emani
Bailey in the backfield will have the opportunity to show what he’s been doing all season long in practice: run hard. Super hard. Considering he is listed at only 5’7, his ability to run downhill has drawn the attention of his coaches and teammates since the beginning of training camp. The former standout at Louisiana and Texas Christian has dressed for two games in a reserve role this season, tallying 26 yards on six carries out of the backfield. Fans should key in on number 25 in black this Friday.
Shoring Up The Run D
On the other side of the coin, one area where the Lions will look to key in on will be what has normally been a stout run defence. Entering this week allowing a CFL-low 66.1 rushing yards per game, the group was humbled last week in Calgary by allowing 151 total on the ground. It will be a good test on Friday against Brady Oliveira and no matter who they face come playoff time, the recipe will include having to neutralize a solid running game. Stop us if you have heard it before: the trenches are where champions are made.
Lucky Number 7
Seven McGee returns to the lineup after missing all but the regular season opener at Saskatchewan with a Lisfranc injury in his foot. It begs the question: will this finally give the Lions the jolt they've been looking for in the return game? Before going down, McGee was expected to pick up where he left off last season. He remains the most recent Lion to return a kick of any kind for a major, that being his 95-yard punt return touchdown in Ottawa last September. A gamebreaker in the return game would be a nice bonus come playoff time.
Lorenzo Mauldin and the Lions look to head into the playoffs on a winning note.
What They’re Saying
“Just gotta prepare and know what’s going on on the field. Make sure that the group of guys I’m going out there with is all playing together and communicating and making sure that we’re playing BC Lions football the way we know how to play and just go out there, have fun and execute the game. Obviously, we’re going out there to win, so we just want to go out there and play to the best of our ability.”- Salter on the mindset going into this week.
“I wouldn’t call it rest. The guys are working; the guys are out here. They’re dialled into what we’re doing and for them it’s pro football. It’s important for us to make sure that we’re playing at our best. I believe we’re putting the work in to allow that to happen.”- Pierce on the roster decisions for this week.
Extra Points
Since beginning play in the WIFU (now known as the Western Division) in 1954, the BC Lions hold an all-time regular season record of 603-600-24. Their 72nd season will mark the 45th time in history they will head to the playoffs.
A win by the Lions eliminates Winnipeg from the Grey Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2015, Mike O'Shea's second season as the club's head coach. The Bombers could earn a trip back to Vancouver next week by winning and having Saskatchewan lose to Edmonton on Saturday. A Rider victory sets up a meeting with the Lions, regardless of Friday's result.
By virtue of knocking out the Bombers, a Lion victory would put Calgary into the post-season. It still remains possible for the Lions to host Saskatchewan, Winnipeg or the Stampeders in the Western Semi-Final.
The Lions look to snap a three-game home losing streak to the Bombers. Their last victory was in October of 2022 with Vernon Adams Jr. at quarterback.
Horvath watch: still on 21 touchdowns, the Z-Train needs two more to break Cory Philpot’s franchise record set in 1995. Getting to 23 would also tie him with legend Milt Stegall for the CFL single-season mark.
One week after hitting the 1,000-point mark as a BC Lion, Sean Whyte's next successful field goal will be the 600th of his illustrious CFL career.
Big Cat's Impact: Just how good has Jevon Cottoy been since coming back from injury? Overall this season, he has caught 54 passes on 59 targets. That 91.5 % success rate is tops in the CFL amongst those with 50 or more targets.