How the Ottawa Redblacks were able to afford - and why they needed - former Elks star Eugene Lewis
Ottawa Redblacks finalized their group of receivers this week when they signed Eugene Lewis, the highest-paid non-QB in the CFL last season.
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The Ottawa Redblacks finalized their group of receivers this week when they reached an agreement with Eugene Lewis, the highest-paid non-quarterback in the CFL last season.
The 31-year-old former Edmonton Elk will be taking a substantial cut — from $320,000 to $225,000 — to catch passes from Dru Brown in 2025.
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Lewis, an all-CFL receiver, should help solve some of the Redblacks’ red-zone problems.
While catching 74 passes for 1,070 yards in 2024, he also finished tied for the league lead with 10 touchdowns, including at least one for eight straight games to finish the season.
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With 29-year-old Jaelon Acklin confirming his retirement and setting his sights on a career in coaching and Dominique Rhymes being released, the Redblacks receivers room will have Lewis, Justin Hardy, Bralon Addison, Kalil Pimpleton and Canadian Nick Mardner in the front row.
DeVonte Dedmon also will be available as insurance while serving as the team’s return specialist, while looking to provide depth behind the starters will be Andre Miller, Eli Stove, Maurice Ffrench and Lincoln Victor.
Backing up Mardner will be veteran Marco Dubois, a team leader who also serves as a valuable member to special teams units, and Jeremy Murphy, a Concordia product who spent the past two seasons in Winnipeg after being selected in the third round of the 2023 CFL draft.
Lewis, quarterback Matt Shiltz and defensive backs Amari Henderson, Tre Roberson, Robert Priester and Nafees Lyon have all reached agreements with the Redblacks during the CFL’s one-week legal tampering period, which ends on Sunday.
That will be followed by a two-day cooling-off period leading into the official opening of free agency on Feb. 11 at noon.
The Redblacks were able to add Lewis with the subtraction of Rhymes — who like former Ottawa DB Damon Webb has reportedly agreed to terms with the Calgary Stampeders — and Acklin.
Both Rhymes and Acklin were making $190,000 in Ottawa.
Also adding to GM Shawn Burke’s wiggle room was Wednesday’s announcement that the CFL salary cap will go up by 10%, or more than $400,000, to $6,062,365 as the “result of strong overall league revenues driven by growth in the game on and off the field.”
Said CFLPA president Solomon Elimimian: “This increase is a direct result of the dedication and sacrifices of our members, both past and present. For too long, salary cap growth has lagged behind the economic realities. With this adjustment, we’re seeing a much-needed correction, one that finally catches up to the rate of inflation and prioritizes the financial well-being of CFL players.”
Lewis was ranked fifth on a list of top 30 available free agents by the website 3DownNation.
A former recruit of legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno who spent three years (2012-2015) with the Nittany Lions and one (2016) playing for the Oklahoma Sooners, the Norristown, Pa., product broke into the CFL with the Montreal Alouettes in 2017.
In five seasons with the Als, he caught 276 passes for 4,347 yards and 28 touchdowns, including a career-best 2022 campaign that saw him with 91 receptions for 1,303 yards and 10 scores in 17 games and being named the winner of the Terry Evanshen Trophy as the East Division’s Most Outstanding Player.
That breakthrough earned Lewis a two-year deal worth $640,000 with the Elks, for whom he caught a total of 122 balls for 1,914 yards and 13 TDs in 30 games.
Should he catch at least one touchdown pass in each of the Redblacks first two games in 2025, Lewis will tie the all-time CFL record set by Evanshen in 1968.
“It’s definitely important, but I don’t sit there and think about (records) all the time,” the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Lewis told The Canadian Press last month. “When records do come my way, I understand how important they are and the urgency of it all because it’s hard to break records and it’s hard to get into those situations.
“When you have the opportunity to make real, live history that can keep going on generation after generation, I think that’s spectacular.”
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