Veteran quarterback Jeremiah Masoli will start for the Ottawa Redblacks in Week 11, head coach Bob Dyce told the media on Sunday.
Starter Dru Brown went down with an injury to his right leg early in the second quarter of the team’s Week 10 tie against Saskatchewan and did not return. The 27-year-old was in attendance on Sunday in a practice jersey but did not participate as Masoli took reps with the first team. However, he was no longer wearing the walking boot he sported on the sidelines Thursday night, according to a report from TSN 1200’s A.J. Jakubec.
It was Dustin Crum, not Masoli, who took over the controls when Brown went done, leading the team through a double overtime thriller. He completed 21-of-32 passes for 211 yards and one interception, while also rushing nine times for 72 yards.
Masoli was listed as the team’s third-stringer after making his return to the lineup in Week 8, having begun the year on the six-game injured list while recovering from a torn Achilles. The 35-year-old has started only five games since joining the Redblacks as a free agent in 2022 as he suffered a fractured leg that year. His recovery was slowed due to an infection he suffered while recovering from surgery, which caused him to miss the first three games of 2023 before again getting injured in his return.
The five-foot-ten, 205-pound passer restructured his contract with Ottawa during the offseason and will make $133,800 in hard money with maximum potential earnings of $236,800 in 2024, which is comparable to some veteran backups across the league.
The native of San Francisco, Calif. has thrown for 16,675 yards, 82 touchdowns, and 54 interceptions over 119 career regular season games as a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Redblacks.
Brown has gone 151-of-230 for 1,936 yards, six touchdowns, and four interceptions through eight starts in his first season in Ottawa. It is unclear how long he will be out with injury, though the issue has been deemed to not be season-ending.
The Redblacks (5-2-1) will return to action on Thursday, August 15 when they visit the Calgary Stampeders (4-5).
