Jake Thomas doesn't get the headlines, but his absence on the night the Bombers gave up a franchise-record 377 rushing yards to B.C. was the loudest statement of his value. Watching from the sideline with a knee injury, Thomas could only witness the Lions' two fourth-quarter touchdown runs of 58 and 35 yards. When he's in the lineup, the interior holds; when he's not, the dam breaks.
The 4-4 Bombers enter their bye with a banged-up Collaros and a shuffled O-line, but the defensive fix starts up front with Thomas. If his knee is right, his return is the single most important variable against a dual-threat like Kaiden Salter, who can turn broken contain into explosive runs. Watch whether Thomas can reclaim the line of scrimmage and force Salter to win from the pocket, because if the middle collapses again, 377 yards won't be an outlier.
Veteran-scale deal around $140,000 — a bargain when healthy.
The Bombers' run-stuffing nose tackle, the anchor whose primary job is to eat double teams and keep the linebacker corps clean against the ground game.
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