Ottawa Redblacks’ nightmare season ends with a whimper against Ticats (& nine other thoughts)

Photo: Bob Butrym/RFB Sport Photography / 3DownNation. All rights reserved.

It’s a damn good thing they won last week.

Six days after riding the magic of rookie quarterback Bryson Barnes’ sensational debut to end their historically embarrassing 22-game losing streak and avoid the ignominy of a 0-18 season, the hope had been that the Ottawa Redblacks would carry that spark to The Hammer and close the book on their 2026 season on a positive note.

Unfortunately for fans in the nation’s capital, that was not to be the case.

Instead, Barnes looked a bit more like the rookie he is — although he didn’t get much help from those around him– the defence was as porous as R-Nation has come to expect, and Ottawa’s special teams were a net negative. At the final whistle, the Redblacks’ 2026 campaign ended with a 35-22 defeat at Tim Hortons Field.

Here are all my thoughts on the game.

Back to earth

For as special as his first career start was, Bryson Barnes wasn’t quite as stellar in his second. His struggles should not be unexpected. With actual game film to study, Hamilton’s defenders had a much better idea of how to prepare for the 25-year-old.

Although the stat line was ugly — a 50 percent completion rate for 163 yards and a pair of interceptions — it wasn’t all bad. One thing that’s become apparent through his two starts is that Barnes does an excellent job of not only using his legs to extend plays, but keeping his eyes downfield while escaping pressure. A perfect example came in the second quarter when he avoided a sack and hit Ayden Eberhardt for a first-down gain. Despite being flushed from the pocket, Barnes didn’t simply tuck the ball and run. And if you’re looking for toughness, look no further than his willingness to hang in the pocket and take a hit to make a play, as he did in the first quarter on a completion across the middle to Keelan White.

As for the two interceptions, while the second can’t be chalked up to anything other than a bad throw, the first isn’t on the rookie. Barnes seemed to be looking for Justin Hardy, yet Ricky Person Jr., who had released from the backfield, made his way directly into the throwing lane and got his hands up, thinking his quarterback was targeting him (he wasn’t). The pass ricocheted off Person Jr.’s hands right into the arms of Stavros Katsantonis. Can’t blame the QB for that one.

RIGHT PLACE. RIGHT TIME. 💥

Stavros Katsantonis withe the diving INT!

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Barnes’ third quarter wasn’t earth-shattering, but it’s tough to expect much production out of your pivot when the offensive line allowed as much pressure as the Redblacks’ did. Ticat pressure led to a handful of rushed/off-target throws, and even when Barnes was able to get the ball to his pass-catchers, they didn’t always catch it, as was the case with a Kalil Pimpleton drop that led to a punt.

It was pretty surprising to see Barnes replaced early in the fourth quarter to make way for veteran Jake Maier. On Ottawa’s last drive of the third quarter, Barnes went down awkwardly when sacked, but he was back on the field for the team’s first drive of the fourth. Yet after going two-and-out, he left the game and didn’t return.

I get that it was a blowout; Ottawa was trailing 35-9 when Maier came into the game, but if Barnes wasn’t injured, pulling him in favour of the veteran would be one of the most baffling coaching decisions by Dinwiddie this season. Doubly so given how these last two games were supposed to be all about Barnes’ development and giving him an extended look. The scoreboard shouldn’t have been a factor when it came to his playing time. Hopefully it wasn’t a situation like last year in Ottawa’s season finale, when then-head coach Bob Dyce inexplicably pulled Tyrie Adams at halftime in favour of journeyman quarterback Matthew Shiltz.

2027 passers

So, what should the Ottawa’s plans under centre look like going forward? As an organization, the Redblacks have never actually developed their own franchise quarterback, which isn’t all that uncommon. Very few CFL teams actually do.

Given what Barnes displayed in his first start, it’s a given he’ll be back. The question becomes whether the team is willing to hand him the starting job and endure the growing pains he will face. That comes with the territory of giving any young quarterback extended playing time. My gut tells me that while most of R-Nation wouldn’t hate that plan, given all the losing in recent years, the organization likely wants Barnes (at least to open the year) backing up a veteran pivot, as that’s something that will be easier for the organization to sell to fans. Looking around the league, there aren’t exactly a ton of premium passers set to hit the market, but there is one name that stands out.

At his introductory press conference, new team president Mike Morreale (more on him in a minute) spoke of wanting to make a splash and bring in marquee names. One guy who fits the bill — and who is currently set to be a free agent– is veteran quarterback Trevor Harris. It would take a lot to lure him from Saskatchewan (and having his good friend Henry Burris in the fold in some kind of role with the Redblacks certainly wouldn’t hurt), but Harris is a name that would instantly provide a ton of credibility and a jolt of energy in the fan base. It’s easy to note how poorly the franchise has performed on the field since Harris’ departure following the 2018 Grey Cup loss, and bringing him back to the 613 would symbolically bring things full-circle.

As for Maier and McLeod Bethel-Thompson, I believe it would be tough for the former to come back, simply due to how this year played out. The latter could make sense, but given his comments in his last two starts questioning/criticizing Dinwiddie’s offensive game plans and play-calling, perhaps there’s too much friction there for MBT to return if Dinwiddie remains as head coach.

Same old story

Speaking of Dinwiddie, uncertainty hangs around his future with the team. While it is possible he’s let go, given the operations cap implications, it does seem unlikely.

I’m less curious about if he’s back and more about if he’ll remain general manager, head coach and offensive coordinator. Before the season kicked off, I wrote that one of my biggest concerns was that it was too many roles for one person to handle. Although a lot of the heavy lifting of the day-to-day front office work was done by vice-president of football operations Shawn Burke (until he was fired), Dinwiddie’s attention was obviously being pulled in a lot of directions throughout the season.

Perhaps going forward, if he remains with the team, it would be beneficial for him to step back from one or two of those roles. Offensively, perhaps bringing in someone to be a true offensive coordinator and letting them create the game plans would make things flow a bit more smoothly. Even with someone in that role, Dinwiddie could still retain play-calling duties on game day. Or if Dinwiddie does in fact remain the offensive coordinator, he must do a much better job of committing to the run game.

The Redblacks were the worst in the CFL at rushing the ball, and a large part of that was because they often didn’t even bother to try. Saturday’s game against the Ticats was again a microcosm of the 2026 season. Take out the QB sneaks and two designed draws and Read/Option plays with Barnes, and Dinwiddie called 41 pass attempts compared to just five handoffs to his running back. Although Ottawa used a lot of play-action against Hamilton, at a certain point, it loses its effectiveness when the defence knows you’re just going through the motions and not actually handing off the ball.

When it was all said and done, the Redblacks put up 303 yards of offence against the Ticats, averaging 5.6 yards per play, while converting 35 percent of their second-down opportunities and going two-of-four in the red zone.

Run it back

When a team goes 1-17, there understandably needs to be a thorough cleansing of the roster. But one positional group that should avoid heavy turnover is the receiving corps.

I don’t care at all that Justin Hardy will be 35 years old when the 2027 season. He needs to be back with the Redblacks. The veteran has excellent hands, runs crisp routes, and is tough as nails, as demonstrated by the only catch he made against the Ticats.

Justin Hardy hangs onto it for the tuddy 💥

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2026 saw Hardy play 17 games, while making 90 receptions for 1,126 yards and seven touchdown catches. It was his fourth consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season.

As for the rest of the receiving corps, Ayden Eberhardt put together his first 1,000-yard campaign and finished the year in style, making six catches for 69 yards and a touchdown against Hamilton. Canadian Keelan White was shaken up by a hit in his back while crouching low to make a reception in the fourth quarter, but returned to the game. He finished with eight catches for 96 yards. Cade McDonald snagged four passes for 48 yards, and Kalil Pimpleton made five grabs for 69 yards, with 53 of those yards coming after the catch.

Mr. Do It All

Given the way he talks to the media, and from what I’ve been told by those who are around him every day, Pimpleton is the type of player who would gladly trade individual achievements for team success. Yet despite the team’s overall struggles in 2026, the five-foot-eight, 175-pound speedster had a season for the ages, which should be recognized and appreciated by fans across the country.

Last week, Pimpleton became just the 11th player in CFL history to cross the 3,000 combined yards mark. This week, thanks to 55 punt return yards, 98 kickoff return yards and 69 yards receiving yards, the 27-year-old broke the Ottawa football record of 3,353 combined yards (set in 2005 by Ottawa Renegade Jason Armstead), finishing the year with 3,404 all-purpose yards.

He also set a bit more history, as his CFL-high 1,834 kick return yards broke Ian Smart’s record of 1,805, which had been set with the B.C. Lions in 2008. While a cynic might argue that Pimpleton only broke the kickoff record due to how frequently opposing teams scored on Ottawa’s defence and were kicking off, that argument doesn’t hold water. Pimpleton averaged a CFL-high 24.5 yards per kickoff return.

Since being signed by Shawn Burke in January 2024, Pimpleton has been one of the Redblacks’ most electric players. He will be a key foundational piece for the team as they work their way back to respectability.

As an interesting side note, the records he set this year aren’t likely to fall any time soon, given that the CFL field and end zones are shrinking. The 20 total yards being lopped off the field of play will make a difference when it comes to players compiling stats.

Historically bad

After giving up 35 points to the Ticats on Saturday afternoon, the Redblacks finished the 2026 season by conceding a total of 673 points against. To put in context just how poorly the defence played, that’s the third most points allowed by any team in CFL history. The only two teams that were worse were the 1995 Ottawa Rough Riders (which gave up 685 points) and the 1991 Saskatchewan Roughriders (which gave up 710 points).

Given that the Ottawa gave up 34 points (or more) in 14 of its 18 games, the team earned its place in the history books.

While it must be acknowledged that interim defensive coordinator Jeff Reinebold had backups to his backups at his disposal because of the seemingly endless slew of injuries that hit the team (especially on the defensive side of the ball), it still doesn’t excuse how easily opponents continually marched up and down the field.

Against the Ticats, the Redblacks not only failed to force a turnover, but aside from the two sacks they notched, Ottawa rarely pressured quarterback Tre Ford, which is reflected by the fact that he completed 72 percent of his passes. Hamilton being gifted four turnovers put the defence in some tough spots (those turnovers led directly to 13 points against), as did the blocked punt, which set up the Ticats deep in Ottawa’s end and led to another touchdown.

Still, any time you allow your opponent to score on nine of their 15 possessions, you’re going to have a long day on defence. In terms of positive standouts, defensive back Sage Ryan was flying around the field before he hurt his left ankle, registering six tackles and a sack. Canadian King Ambers also made eight tackles.

Mr. Redblack

By suiting up for his 129th career game, fullback Anthony Gosselin became the player with the most career games played for the Redblacks franchise, passing defensive lineman Nigel Romick’s record of 128.

Since being drafted in the second round of the 2017 CFL draft, the Quebec native has plied his trade on special teams and occasionally as a lead-blocker in jumbo/heavy run packages.   

In 2026, Gosselin led the Redblacks with 10 special teams tackles. He also made exactly one reception for nine yards. It would’ve been neat to see Dinwiddie make an effort to get the ball in his hands some kind of way against the Ticats if only to acknowledge the milestone, but alas, it was not to be.

New sheriff in town and a fork in the road

The decision by president and CEO of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), Mark Goudie, to hire Mike Morreale as the Redblacks’ new president marks a significant moment in franchise history.

Let there be no doubt, Morreale is extremely qualified for the role, thanks to his time as commissioner of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), his 12 seasons as a player in the CFL, his seven years working with the CFL Players’ Association (CFLPA), and his other extensive experience running his own businesses.

At his opening press conference, he said all the right things that fans should take comfort in hearing about building culture, examining all aspects of what has gone wrong in recent years, about his realistic view that this won’t be an overnight fix, and about the fact that he is going to be making exciting moves to overhaul the roster.

But what hung over the presser was the fact that Goudie chose not to hire Henry Burris for the role, despite, by his own admission, having Burris help him define the criteria of his search for the team’s next president.

Thanks to reporting by Postmedia’s Don Brennan, we know Burris was upset and caught off-guard by not being offered the role. Although both Goudie and Morreale went out of their way to state that the door will always be open to Burris, and that they in fact hope that they can still find a role for him with the organization this offseason, the decision not to bring back the popular, Grey Cup-winning pivot is a risky one. For all of Morreale’s strong credentials, he doesn’t carry the sway or have the positive recognition in the community that Burris does.

Here’s hoping the Redblacks still do find a way to bring an (understandably miffed) Burris into the fold, and that the Morreale is a success. Because if he stumbles, there will be a lot of second-guessing.

Wrapping it up

With the loss, the most disappointing and frustrating season in Redblacks’ franchise history comes to a close. By finishing with a 1-17 record, the 2026 Redblacks join the 2003 Ticats as the only other 1-17 team in CFL history. In terms of Ottawa history, they’re the first football team to finish a season with a single win since the 1934 Rough Riders went 1-5.

With such failure comes significant change, and when the Redblacks kick off training camp next spring, it won’t just be the field itself that’s different; the team will feature new coaches and plenty of new players.

I’m well aware it’s been a trying, and at times painful, season for R-Nation, but I would like to truly thank each and every person who has continued to read my articles every week. As always, I’ve done my best to keep you informed by calling it like I see it.

Although Ottawa’s games are done, there will be plenty of news to cover this offseason, so keep checking in. I’ll be breaking down and analyzing every move the organization makes this offseason in their bid to return to winning and respectability.