Ottawa Redblacks ‘week-to-week’ at QB but pleased with McLeod Bethel-Thompson

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The Ottawa Redblacks appear set to start McLeod Bethel-Thompson when they host the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday, though the team plans to continually reassess its quarterback situation for the rest of the year.

“It’s week-to-week. We want to give (rookie quarterback) Bryson (Barnes) a look, but we also want to win a football game in the worst way. We’ve gotta get that monkey off our back, get a win,” head coach and general manager Ryan Dinwiddie told the media on Tuesday.

“(Barnes) will play at some stage. … This week, I would love to get him on the field but I think we want to give (Bethel-Thompson) the majority of it to try to get a win here at home.”

Bethel-Thompson shone in his first start of the season last week, completing 27-of-48 pass attempts for 379 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception. His fifth touchdown pass gave the Redblacks the lead with one minute left in the fourth quarter, though they lost 40-38 after Rene Paredes booted a 62-yard walk-off field goal.

Dinwiddie was impressed with the 38-year-old quarterback, particularly with how well he played in the third and fourth quarters.

“(Bethel-Thompson) did some good things. I think there was probably about four or five throws we wish we had back, a few different reads,” he said.

“He hadn’t played in a while, so the first half was a bit of a struggle — well, I wouldn’t say necessarily a struggle — we just weren’t playing up to our standard, what we thought we could be.

“I thought in the second half, he played well. He did some good things, got the ball out of his hand, and led the offence.”

The veteran passer played well enough that some critics have questioned why he didn’t see the field sooner. Jake Maier went 0-12 as Ottawa’s starter to begin the year, throwing for 3,139 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.

“Jake had his opportunities, it was time to give (Bethel-Thompson) his,” said Dinwiddie.

“I think hindsight’s 20-20. If you look back, would it change our season if we put him back three weeks before? That’s not for me to judge that, but I just felt like right now, he’s giving us the best chance to win.”

Ottawa has lost 19 consecutive regular-season games dating back to 2025. The team will look to avoid falling to 0-14 this week, which would tie the league record for worst start to a season.

The Ottawa Redblacks (0-13) will host the Calgary Stampeders (6-8) on Saturday, September 26 with kickoff scheduled for 3:00 p.m. EDT. The two teams met at McMahon Stadium last week, where Rene Paredes kicked a 62-yard game-winning walk-off field goal.

The game will be broadcast on TSN, RDS2, CTV, and Crave in Canada, and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on 770 CHQR in Calgary or TSN 1200 in Ottawa.