Ottawa Redblacks

Ottawa Redblacks to start three new defensive backs against Tiger-Cats

by
3Down Staff
October 1, 2026

Photo: Ottawa Redblacks

The Ottawa Redblacks will have three brand new starters in the secondary on Friday night against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The team released its official depth chart on Thursday.

Kahzir ‘Buggs’ Brown will start at boundary cornerback, while Sage Ryan will start at boundary halfback, and Ahmari Harvey will start at field-side cornerback. This will be the first CFL start for all three players.

Brown made his regular-season Redblacks debut two weeks ago in a depth role, though he didn’t record any statistics. He had a brief stint with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2025.

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The six-foot-three, 210-pound defender completed his collegiate career at Florida Atlantic University, where he made 44 total tackles, two tackles for loss, eight knockdowns, and two interceptions in 12 games.

The native of Trenton, N.J. transferred after three seasons with the University of Maine, where he made 143 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, a sack, 23 pass breakups, six interceptions, two forced fumbles, a blocked kick, and a defensive touchdown in 32 games.

Ryan joined Ottawa’s practice roster two weeks ago. He finished his collegiate career at Ole Miss in 2025, where he tallied 26 total tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, and four pass knockdowns. The six-foot, 200-pound defender previously played at Louisiana State University.

Harvey went unselected in the 2026 NFL Draft but has since had stints with the Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Miami Dolphins. The six-foot, 195-pound native of Tallahassee, Fla. played 43 collegiate games at Georgia Tech, where he recorded 121 total tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, and seven pass breakups.

Ottawa released incumbent starting defensive backs Adrian Frye and Christian Matthew this past week, opening two roster spots.

Kenzel Lawler, who has recorded four defensive tackles over two regular-season games as a rookie, has been moved to the practice roster. He is the younger brother of Tiger-Cats receiver Kenny Lawler.

Defensive lineman Kori Roberson Jr. has also come off the active roster (knee) alongside kicker Brett Lauther, who was traded to the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Wednesday.

Paul Geelen will take over the kicking duties from Lauther. The 23-year-old native of Utrecht, Netherlands played collegiately at Southern Illinois, where he made 25-of-32 field goal attempts over 24 games.

Aaron Casey, who has tallied 26 defensive tackles and three special teams tackles over seven regular-season games, has also been added to the active roster in a depth role at middle linebacker.

Following last week’s loss to the Calgary Stampeders, the Redblacks tied the CFL record for worst start to a season at 0-14. One more loss would break the record, which was set by the Shreveport Pirates in 1994.

The Ottawa Redblacks (0-14) will host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4-11) on Friday, October 2 with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The Tiger-Cats were eliminated from playoff contention following last week’s loss to Edmonton, while the Redblacks continued their winless season against Calgary.

The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS2 in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on the Ticats Audio Network in Hamilton or TSN 1200 in Ottawa.

Ottawa Redblacks

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