No one ever wins a Grey Cup in February, but you can certainly put yourself in a good position to have a chance down the road.
Around the CFL landscape, the consensus is that the Ottawa REDBLACKS did exceptionally well in the re-signing period and subsequently free agency. They retained 22 of their 33 pending free agents and added key players on the open market.
Marshall Ferguson graded the REDBLACKS’ winter an ‘A,’ the league’s second-highest mark behind only the Edmonton Elks, Alt-Football Digest pegged them as one of the offseason’s winners, and Dave Naylor said they “filled some holes.”
Inside General Manager Shawn Burke’s office, the outside noise never penetrates the walls surrounding his desk. In the number of months since the season ended, Burke, along with the rest of the REDBLACKS front office and coaching staff, concocted their winter plans and stuck to them in negotiations.
They made some difficult decisions, but every move they made was done with the belief that it would help them become a better football team in 2025.
“We wanted a blend of bringing some core pieces back, but not being complacent,” Burke explained. “We wanted to address some areas that we needed to improve, but at the same time, we want to hit the ground running. Bob [Dyce] talks about building the foundation, and we have that foundation of guys we want.”
Ottawa’s marquee addition, of course, is wideout Geno Lewis, whose name is added to a wildly talented group of receivers. The 31-year-old hauled in 74 receptions with the Elks last season, picking up 1,070 yards and 10 touchdowns.
For most of his career, he’s been an offence’s biggest threat, scoring 41 touchdowns in 97 games, but with the REDBLACKS, there’s an understanding that every game will be different, and sometimes, it’ll be someone else feasting.
“We want to have a selfless group, it could be someone different [making an impact] each week,” Burke said. “Whatever role you’re asked to have, you do it to the best of your capabilities. We’ve got guys like Justin Hardy, Bralon Addison, Kalil Pimpleton and Nick Mardner. Then some guys who aren’t talked about as much like Andre Miller and Maurice French. They all want to strive for greatness.”
In the past, Burke has emphasized that wins and losses are decided by your quarterback and in the trenches. The REDBLACKS, of course, are quite happy with their starter, with Dru Brown going into his second season with the club after signing an extension in January.
Re-signing both Tyrie Adams and Dustin Crum, Burke sought out a veteran, inking Matthew Shiltz to add to an already strong room.
Quarterbacks: check. Along the offensive line, it’ll be the same group barring the centre with the addition of Toronto native Peter Godber.
“He’s a physical mauler that can stand up in one-on-one situations,” Burke said. “He’s a very intelligent player that can make all the calls. I’ve seen a progression through his career, but obviously had a bit of an injury setback last year, but that film we saw was good quality.”
As a whole, Burke is more than satisfied with the quality of his starting unit and is confident in the depth pieces backing them up.
“It’s a veteran group, and we’re expecting big things out of them,” he said. “We expect them to set the tone physically for our football team. They will be challenged, but Coach Gibson is coming in to work with that group to help them get better and better. We’re excited to see that happen on the field.”
On the other side of the football, it’s the same defensive line for the REDBLACKS, featuring Lorenzo Mauldin, Bryce Carter, Cleyon Laing and Micheal Wakefield as the big names.
Again, there’s plenty of depth to go around this season, with players like Aidan John, Blessman Ta’ala, Daniel Okpoko, Kene Onyeka and Deionte Knight, just to name a handful.
“What I appreciate about that group is they understand the function of what each one of those guys does together,” Burke said. “We had to talk about it in free agency, everyone can’t get their top dollar and keep the group together. They bought into that.”
“That group is working together each day, and they set the tone. If you talk to other teams, I constantly hear we’re a heavy, physical team to play against on the defensive line, and that’s what we want to be. We want to be a physical football team that imposes their will on people.”
There have been a number of other big storylines for the REDBLACKS this offseason, whether it was re-signing big pending free agents like Justin Hardy and Adarius Pickett, or signing running back William Stanback, but fans had their eyes glued to the defensive backs market.
Ottawa brought back a number of their own free agents while adding a handful more, including Tunde Adeleke, Nafees Lyon, Amari Henderson and Robert Priester.
“The biggest thing, I would say, is competition,” Burke said. “We want to create competition back there. We did some things well last year, at the end of the day, in the first half of the season, we had a very good pass defence. Obviously, we ran into some adversity, and we need to finish better at the end of the day.”
Happy with where his team stands as February grinds to a close, the REDBLACKS’ brass is directing their attention towards the CFL Draft, and all the ancillary events that go with it.
“Chad [Hudson] has done an excellent job scouting through the season, and more of us get involved now,” Burke explained. “We’re gearing up for combine.”
