Zach Collaros

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Collaros signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after going undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft but did not make the team.[7][9]

Collaros signed a contract to play for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League in June 2012.[10][11] He played in 1 game during the 2012 CFL season, completing 7 of 11 passes for 101 yards and 1 touchdown. In the first preseason game of the 2013 CFL season he completed 9 of 12 passes for 95 yards and 1 touchdown. On July 30, he had his first CFL start in place of the injured Ricky Ray, as the Argonauts defeated the B.C. Lions at the Rogers Centre. He threw for 3 touchdowns and completed 21 of 25 passes for 253 yards.[12][13] Collaros had an outstanding 2013 season. He played in 14 games that season and was the starting quarterback for eight games, due to an injury to Ricky Ray. He completed 190 of 287 pass attempts at a strong completion percentage of 66.2%. He threw for 2,316 yards, 14 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions, for a quarterback rating of 98.4. He was not selected by the Ottawa Redblacks in the 2013 CFL Expansion Draft because he was set to become a free agent in February 2014. The Redblacks did not want to risk their selections on players who may not re-sign with their new team. Collaros was set to become a free-agent in February 2014 if a contract extension could not be agreed upon by the Argos. Upon understanding that Collaros would not re-sign with the Argos and would instead test the free-agent market, Argos general manager Jim Barker decided to release Collaros prior to the start of free agency. After failing to come to terms on a new contract, the Argonauts released Collaros on January 29, 2014.[14]

On January 30, 2014, Collaros announced his intention to sign with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He signed a contract later that day to keep him in Hamilton through the 2016 season.[15] In his first season with the Tiger-Cats Collaros started in 13 of the 18 regular season games and helped lead the Tiger-Cats to a 9–9 record (first-place in the East division) and took them all the way to the 102nd Grey Cup game; in which they were defeated by the Calgary Stampeders for the second consecutive season. Collaros came into form in the 2015 CFL season leading the Tiger-Cats to a record of 8–3 to start the season. In a game against the Eskimos on September 19, 2015, Collaros left the game with a leg injury and did not return to the field. It was announced 2 days later that he had suffered a torn ACL and would miss the remainder of the 2015 season.[16] At the time of the injury Collaros was leading the league in passing yards (3,376), touchdown passes (25) and passer rating (113.7).

On May 4, 2016, Tiger-Cats head coach Kent Austin announced that Collaros would be limited in training camp, and likely miss the start of the 2016 regular season as he recovers from his torn ACL injury.[17] On June 19, three days before the season commenced, Austin confirmed that Collaros would not be starting the season as he continued to rehab his knee.[18] Prior to Week 8, and almost 11 months since sustaining his knee injury, Collaros returned to practising with the first team offense.[19] Collaros made his season debut in time for the team's Week 8 match against the BC Lions.[20] The following season, on August 29, 2017, after an 0–8 start to the 2017 season, Tiger-Cats head coach June Jones announced that Jeremiah Masoli would get the start at quarterback in Week 11 over Collaros.[21] Collaros did not start another game for the Tiger-Cats in the 2017 season. By all accounts 2017, was Collaros' worst season of his career: not only did he not win a game, he also posted a career low quarterback efficiency rating of 88.1 and career low completion percentage (62.8%). His touchdown-to-interception ratio (8:7) was also the lowest of his career.

On January 3, 2018, Collaros was traded to the Saskatchewan Roughriders for a 2nd round pick in the 2018 CFL Draft.[22] On January 19, 2018 Collaros agreed to a restructured contract with the Riders.[23] Prior to the restructured deal Collaros was set to make $500,000 in 2018, plus a $200,000 roster bonus due February 1, 2018.[24] Collaros suffered a concussion in the team's Week 2 loss to the Ottawa Redblacks.[25] In the following week Collaros was placed on the six-game injured reserve.[26] Collaros played in 14 regular season games during the 2018 regular season, leading the Riders to a 12-6 record and a home playoff game.[27] Collaros was unable to play in the Western Semi-Final playoff game because of a concussion, and the Riders were defeated by the Blue Bombers 23-18, ending their season.[28][29] Collaros re-signed with the Riders on the opening day of free agency, February 12, 2019, for a one-year contract.[30] Collaros was knocked out of the first game of the season when he was hit in the head by Ti-Cats linebacker Simoni Lawrence while attempting to slide.[31] Collaros was subsequently placed on the 6-game injured list.[32]

On July 31, 2019, Collaros was traded to the Toronto Argonauts in exchange for a conditional fourth round pick in the 2020 CFL Draft. The pick can be upgraded to as high as a second-round pick in this year's draft if Collaros meets playing time targets and extension clauses.[33] In early September 2019, Collaros was still unable to participate in practice because of the concussion he suffered in Week 1.[34] However, by the end of the month he was throwing the ball in practice.[35]

Collaros was traded to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, on the CFL's 2019 trade deadline day, Oct 9, 2019, along with an exchange of draft picks in the 2020 CFL Draft.[36] The Bombers had lost starting quarterback Matt Nichols to a season ending injury earlier in the season and the Bombers had lost four of their last five games with Chris Streveler under centre.[37] Prior to the last game of the regular season, Collaros started taking first-team reps in practice for the Bombers,[38] and was announced as the starting quarterback on October 24, 2019, taking over for an injured Streveler.[39] Collaros threw his first passes of the year to count (his lone attempt for the Roughriders was wiped out due to a defensive penalty) and lead the Blue Bombers to a victory in their season finale. Collaros formed a QB tandem with Streveler, where Streveler served primarily as a gritty run option.[40] The two turned what had been a late season slump for the Bombers, into a post-season winning streak that saw Winnipeg defeat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-12 to win the 107th Grey Cup. Collaros' Grey Cup victory was unique in that he beat Saskatchewan, the team he started the season with in the division finals and then beat Hamilton, whose linebacker Simoni Lawrence had hit him in the head in Week 1 and knocking him out for a significant portion of the season, on his way to the championship.[41] The media had frequently brought these circumstances up and Collaros did not answer them until the final media session after the Grey Cup saying "What are they calling it? The revenge tour? We finished it. It’s over. Last show tonight."[41] On January 27, 2020 Collaros and the Bombers agreed to a two-year contract extension, preventing him from becoming a free agent on February 11.[42]

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