Ottawa Redblacks: Why winning is secondary in CFL pre-season finale

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Battle in the backfield

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“Astute analysis” is what Dyce called an observation that the most hotly contested competition for starting jobs is in the Ottawa secondary.

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Veteran Alonzo Addae is locked in at safety despite a good push from ex-B.C. Lion Charlie Ringland and fifth-round pick Eric Cumberbatch, both of whom will play Friday.

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It also appears former Roughrider Amari Henderson will be one of the Redblacks’ halfbacks, but the other spot is still up for grabs.

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So are the cornerback jobs, with ex-NFLers Gavin Heslop and Shakur Brown pushing veteran CFLers like Alijah McGhee and C.J. Coldon.

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“It’s a very talented group,” Dyce said of the defensive backfield. “That’s why we wanted to see them all continue to play this week, to verify certain things that we think and give them another opportunity under the lights. There’s no lack of talent; there are so many good guys. We want to make sure to do the due diligence, so that, when we go to Week 1, we’ve got the right guys.”

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Against the Alouettes, the depth chart from left to right shows Heslop and McGhee at one corner, former NFLer Craig James and ex-Argo Robert Priester at one halfback spot, returning veteran Deandre Lamont and former Calgary Stampeder Kenyon Reed in the other halfback slot, and eighth-round pick King Ambers with Brown and Coldon at the other corner.

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A 2024 file photo of receiver Nick Mardner, who suffered a serious leg injury during 2025 training camp at Kingston. Photo by Ottawa Redblacks /HandoutArticle content

Filling a hole

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The Redblacks lost receiver Nick Mardner, their 6-6 first-round pick in 2024, to a torn patella tendon in Kingston.

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That leaves 2025 first-rounder Keelan White, sixth-rounder Ethan Jordan and undrafted free agent Darius Simmons as the only Canadian receivers on a roster expected to start at least one.

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White, who is not playing Friday, has impressed the coaching staff.

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“We had a pretty good understanding of who he was as a person and as a player, and he comes as advertised,” Dyce said of the 6-foot-2 White, a North Vancouver product who played at the University of Montana. “I think if there’s anything that even impresses me more is his knowledge of the offence and how he takes things. He’s a professional. For a young guy, it sometimes takes a little bit of time, but it comes down to his splits. Tommy (Condell, offensive co-ordinator) has so many different variations and Keelan is on point at all times. You would think he was a CFL vet. There are different things with the roster that you can do, ratio-wise, so, as regrettable as what happened with Nick is, we feel comfortable with where we’re at.”

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Backing up Brown

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Veteran quarterback Matt Schiltz will make his Ottawa debut playing the first quarter on Friday, while Tyree Adams and Dustin Crum will split the rest of the game.

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In Montreal last week, Shiltz completed eight of 11 passes for 72 yards, Crum was good on four of five throws for 22 yards and Adams connected on just one of two attempts for six yards.

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“We’ve seen a lot of good things out of all three of them,” Dyce said. “And this is going to be another great opportunity for them to show how they’ve progressed in Tommy’s offence.”

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Shiltz, a 32-year-old entering his seventh CFL season, played for Condell in 2022 and 2023 as a Ticat.

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Asked what he wanted to accomplish Friday, Shiltz said: “The biggest thing, especially in these games, is getting in and out of the huddle, making sure everyone’s on the same page, getting into a little bit of a rhythm, and get the guys focused on their alignment and their assignment, focused on those little detail things. The offence can be a little bit complex for some rookies sometimes. So just make sure we get everybody on the same page and finish every drive with a kick.”

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