‘Let’s not jump the gun’: Ryan Dinwiddie won’t anoint Bryson Barnes after Redblacks’ first victory

Photo: Gord Weber/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

The Ottawa Redblacks finally found their way into the win column on Friday night thanks to a dazzling performance from quarterback Bryson Barnes, but that doesn’t mean that the rookie will be the face of the franchise going forward.

“I think right now, let’s just be happy with his production that he had tonight,” head coach and general manager Ryan Dinwiddie told reporters post-game. “He’ll be our guy next week. Let’s develop him again, put him in a favourable spot to execute and go from there. I think everybody wants to have an answer right away after one game; let’s not jump the gun. But Bryson’s got a bright future with us.”

Barnes made his first career start in Week 20, completing 27-of-37 passes (73 percent) for 339 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed seven times for 62 yards, helping to deliver a 40-39 victory over the Toronto Argonauts.

The result marked Ottawa’s first win since September 5, 2025, ending a record-setting 22-game losing streak for the franchise. They avoided becoming the first winless team in CFL history, in large part due to the rookie pivot.

“I don’t think it’s fully settled in yet. I’m just grateful for the opportunity that I was able to have to go out with the guys,” Barnes said at the podium. “The season has not gone the way we obviously would have liked it to, and I’m just happy for the guys. The hard work finally paid off for a win this week.”

The Redblacks trailed by six points with 30 seconds left when Barnes got the ball in his hands at his own 43-yard line. He connected on a seven-yard pass to running back Ricky Person Jr. on the opening play and drew a roughing-the-passer penalty to move across the midfield stripe. He then took off for a 21-yard gain on the ground, before connecting with Ayden Eberhardt for a 24-yard touchdown strike. Paul Geelen kicked the winning extra point.

Eberhardt said he was not surprised by Barnes’ performance after watching him in practice, but came away impressed by his grit and poise in the game’s biggest moments.

“It means a lot to see him running around, taking a couple shots, trying to get first downs or getting first downs. He wanted it, and he’s a heck of a player,” he said. “He played a great game, but seeing that confidence in him throughout the entire game — he was just calm, cool, collected. Even the last drive he was in there, he took a shot from running one and getting a first down, and everyone’s kind of like, ‘Hey, are you good?’ He’s rattling off the next play.”

According to Barnes, who turned 25 earlier this month, that type of toughness is a trademark part of his style of play.

“That’s the name of the game, and that’s the game that I’ve played in the past,” he said. “Unfortunately, I take some hits, but I feel like I’m built for it, is the way I’d like to put it. I’ll take some hits, and I’m cool with it as long as we’re moving the ball down the field. I’ll do what we’ve got to do.”

While Dinwiddie isn’t ready to shape Ottawa’s offseason plans around Barnes quite yet, he was also impressed by what the Utah State product brought to the table. He had confidence in the rookie based on what he’d already seen, but was glad to have it validated in a live game scenario.

“You never know what it’s going to look like. We had faith in Bryson, tried to get him more reps over the last month to get him going. I felt like he would go out and play well. He was letting it rip in the first half. We had some drops in the second half that got us off the field. I thought, for the most part, he played well,” the QB guru said.

“I think there’s a few plays we probably wish we had back, just like any quarterback would. But for him, in his first start, to play the way he did. You can see he can use his legs; we had some quarterback draws that we had dialled up. He’s a tough, tough kid, a real good competitor.”

The key question facing Dinwiddie and the Redblacks is why it took the team so long to turn to Barnes amidst a lost season of misery.

Jake Maier, who won the job from incumbent Dru Brown in training camp, made 12 starts and lost every single one, a feat never before achieved by a starting quarterback in CFL history. When Ottawa finally elected to make a switch, Dinwiddie went with 38-year-old veteran McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who produced four more losses.

Despite persistent public calls to play the rookie and repeated comments by Dinwiddie that Barnes would get an opportunity in the coming weeks, he waited until there were just two games remaining to pull the trigger. According to the former CFL Coach of the Year, Barnes thrived because of that patience, not in spite of it.

“I would say if we put him in there early in the year, you might not see this performance where he’s at right now,” Dinwiddie insisted. “Young quarterbacks, especially in this league, you’ve got to develop them. 12-man football, guys moving around. He’s fresh out of college, right? We had to make sure we gave him the time to develop.”

For his part, Eberhardt would not question the timing of the change, even if the decision may have delayed victory.

“I’m a wide receiver. That’s not my call,” he said. “I trust in our offensive coaches to be able to make the call on any position whether it’s quarterback, running back, wide receiver, or lineman.”

Barnes remains focused on his next opportunity, which will come on Saturday, October 24, when Ottawa faces the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. A loss in that game would see the Redblacks tie for the worst record in CFL history, while another victory might propel him into the conversation for the starting job next year.

“Last week, it’s obviously got to be our Grey Cup, got to be our Super Bowl,” he insisted. “That’s got to be the mentality, even though the season hasn’t gone the way we would have liked it to. Everything into next week and about tomorrow.”