The Ottawa Redblacks have released quarterback Nick Arbuckle.
The two sides reached an impasse in contract renegotiations as the passer was due a bonus of $150,000 on Monday.
Arbuckle signed a two-year contract with Ottawa in January 2020 following a trade from the Calgary Stampeders. He was set to earn $430,000 in “hard money” in 2021 with incentives potentially taking the deal as high as $495,000.
The 27-year-old posted a 4-3 record as the starting quarterback in Calgary in 2019 while Bo Levi Mitchell was out due to injury. He completed 73 percent of his passes for 2,103 yards with eleven touchdowns against five interceptions and ran 27 times for 76 yards and four majors.
Ryan Dinwiddie served as the quarterbacks coach in Calgary during Arbuckle’s tenure with the Stamps. Now the head coach in Toronto, there could be a reunion with Dinwidde and his former quarterback in The Six.
The Redblacks opted to sign veteran passer Matt Nichols over Arbuckle.
