Weston Dressler liked what he saw in CFL free agency from his new team.

The Bombers slotback said they now have to figure out how to put all those pieces of the puzzle together.

“We made a lot of moves and brought in a lot of guys that have been successful in the CFL for the last few years here,” Dressler said Tuesday in Toronto during a gathering of the league's top players. “There's definitely enough names that people will recognize and people will get excited about.

“The important thing for us as a team is how do we put these names together and build a team. There's definitely individuals who can play the game on the roster right now, so it's how do you put it all together?”

Defensive end Jamaal Westerman likes the new pieces that have arrived on defence, including tackles Keith Shologan and Euclid Cummings.

“It was great,” Westerman said. “We did a lot of good things, picked up some guys that have played at a high level for a while around this league. I'm excited to kind of get to camp. This is the time where the jitters start coming in. You're a month and a half out and you're ready to go. I was following the whole free agency. I talked to a couple guys. I think it worked a little bit on a couple guys.

“A lot of guys are excited to be playing in Winnipeg, and that's the one thing I've heard.”

LAST MAN STANDING

Westerman is the only starting member of Winnipeg's defensive line who wasn't released during the off-season, as the team parted ways with Bryant Turner, Greg Peach and Zach Anderson.

Westerman paid tribute to that trio for helping him finish second in the CFL with 17 sacks last season.

“Those guys really helped me improve as the season went on,” Westerman said. “BT, Peach, Zach, Jake Thomas ... all the guys really helped me a lot. I'm probably going to miss those guys (Thomas is still with the team), because they were the ones who told me about the differences in the game.

“I'm excited to play with those guys, because they've played a lot of football and have played at a high level for a couple years. When we get all the guys together it's going to be a good rotation. We should do a lot better than last year.”

RUNNING MEN

The Bombers will hold their offensive mini-camp on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at Investors Group Field, and quarterback Drew Willy is excited for the rebirth of his team's running game.

“Andrew Harris is going to be huge for us,” Willy said in Toronto. “We haven't been able to consistently run the ball. We've had spurts here and there in certain games. He's such a good player in the open field with the passing game and the running game it's going to be tough for teams to know exactly with his motions. You can tell when he plays he's got a veteran presence out there.

“Sometimes when you get young backs out there you can kind of tell if it's a run or a pass. He mixes it up. He knows tendencies. He knows things like that.”

FAMILIAR FACE

Monday's mini-camp start will also continue the relationship between the receivers from North Dakota, Dressler and Ryan Smith, who spent the last two years together in Saskatchewan.

“He's one of those guys that makes it fun every day in practice, even the days when you're not feeling as well or don't have as much energy,” Dressler said. “He's going to bring it and keep everyone up. His excitement level for football brings more enjoyment for everyone else.”

LOOKING GOOD

Westerman wore Winnipeg's new royal blue uniforms during the photo shoot in Toronto on Wednesday, and he said they look pretty spiffy.

Word is the new Adidas duds will feel better, but Westerman said the jury is still out because he wasn't doing his usual football moves on Wednesday. They're supposedly tighter than the old Reebok ones, which should make it tougher for offensive linemen to hold, shouldn't it?

“They'll find a way,” Westerman said. “Those O linemen, they're tricky with that. They always find a way to get you.”

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