What we learned about the status of QB Dru Brown for the Ottawa Redblacks CFL home opener

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Dru Brown passed for 89 more yards than any other quarterback in Week 1 of the 2025 CFL season.

The entire field could pass the Ottawa Redblacks starter on that statistical leaderboard in Week 2.

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What we learned about the status of QB Dru Brown for the Ottawa Redblacks CFL home opener Back to video

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Brown, who threw for 413 yards in last Thursday’s 31-26 season-opening loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, was on the field but did not participate in drills when the team returned to practice four days later at TD Place.

The explanation given by head coach Bob Dyce failed the smell test.

“He threw the ball a fair amount in the game and we decided to give him the day off,” said Dyce, who was coy when asked if Brown would play in Friday’s home opener against the Montreal Alouettes.

“We’ll see,” he said.

The TV cameras showed Brown was obviously in pain – seemingly favouring his hip – after taking a sack in the Redblacks’ second-last offensive series against the Roughriders.

As much agony as he appeared to be in, it was surprising to see him back on the field for the Redblacks’ last set of downs.

With a little more than a minute left on the clock and the ball on the Ottawa 41-yard line, Brown’s valiant attempt at leading Ottawa to a come-from-behind win ended with an incompletion, a 16-yard loss on another sack and a short pass to running back William Stanback that resulted in a gain of 14 and a turnover on downs.

Asked on Monday if he could have thrown a deeper ball at that point, Brown hedged.

“It was tough,” said Brown, who in Week 1 was joined in the 300-yard passing club only by B.C.’s Nathan Rourke (324) and Hamilton’s Bo Levi Mitchell (304). “It’s a good question. I mean, it was painful to throw.”

But he also didn’t want to take himself out of the game and put the responsibilities on the shoulders of a cold backup.

“In hindsight, maybe that would have been a smart decision,” Brown said.

Last season, his first as a starter, the now-28-year-old Brown dressed for 17 of the Redblacks’ 18 games, but only played 15 from start to finish.

His main injury in 2024 was a high ankle sprain.

What could hurt the Redblacks this season is if Brown does further damage to the injury he’s dealing with now.

“You’ve got to be honest with yourself and with others,” Brown said when asked about lessons he learned a season ago. “It’s kind of hard when you know you want to be out there, obviously, but one thing can lead to another, and you want to put the best product out there. That’s what I’m here for. You’re never going to feel 100%, but if something’s going on, then you have to understand that you might not be the best option. So that’s kind of what I learned from last year.”

As the start of this practice week concluded, Brown said he was “feeling good” and “taking it one day at a time right now.”

Do you think you’ll be able to play on Friday?

“We’ll see how it progresses,” Brown replied.

Asked if he could miss practice all week and then still play against the Alouettes, he said:

“At the end of the day, you’ve made the throws your whole life and the biggest thing is staying in it mentally. If you’re ready to rock, you’re ready to rock.”

And if he’s not ready Friday, the rock will be placed in the hands of veteran Matt Shiltz, who spent the first five seasons of his eight-year career with Montreal.

“We brought Matt in here for a reason,” Dyce said of the 32-year-old Shiltz, who was signed over the off-season as a free agent. “It’s not just what I’ve seen here in training camp and throughout practices. He’s a seasoned vet. Every week, he, Dru and (offensive coordinator) Tommy (Condell) are breaking down the film. He brings a lot as we game plan as well as on the practice field. He’s obviously a very mobile young man and makes very good decisions. He brings that veteran experience.”

What else have we learned about the Redblacks as they moved into preparations for their first inter-division clash of the season?

Few things:

GAME OF A LIFETIME FOR FIELD-SIDE FRYE

Adrian Frye did a pretty good impression of former Chicago Bears cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman the way he stripped the ball from a couple of Roughriders on Thursday, but it’s not something he’s made a habit of doing.

“I think I’ve had maybe two forced fumbles in my career before that,” said Frye, who spent five years at Texas Tech and time with the New Orleans Saints before joining the Redblacks last season. “I remember one was against Baylor and then I think I had another one that didn’t count, in high school or something.”

Against the Roughriders, Frye forced a Sam Emilus fumble and recovered the ball to set up a field goal attempt booted wide by Lewis Ward in the first quarter, and then stripped KeeSean Johnson for a fumble recovery by Adarius Pickett near midfield in the fourth. That didn’t lead to any Ottawa points either.

“You’ve learned from a young kid that it’s all about the football, you can affect the game by putting your hands on the ball,” Frye said. “We go through tackling circuits where it’s like, first guy in, ensure the tackle, second guy in, get the ball.

“On the first one (in Saskatchewan), it just so happened that I was the first guy there and I went to get the ball. The second one, the play is never over until it’s over. So he caught the ball and I thought I’d punch at the ball and get him down. It just happened that the ball came out, and I didn’t even know it at first.

“I just punched and raked on the other arm, and I was like, it’s got to be in one of them. So kind of just went from there.”

With a strong training camp that moved him ahead of incumbent Alijah McGhee on the depth chart at field-side corner, Frye, who saw action at the halfback and SAM linebacker spots last season, was playing in his natural position in Regina.

But even with a performance that also saw him with five total tackles, one behind Pickett’s team-leading six, Frye doesn’t have a lock on the job.

“That was one of the most competitive areas in training camp, but everything is always fluid,” Dyce said. “Alijah is a fantastic player and continues to work extremely hard and Adrian is working hard out there as well. So we’ll continue to work with these guys, and as always, put the best group out there every week that gives us the best opportunity to win.”

NATIONAL DUTY

The Redblacks added three Canadian players to the practice roster this week and one of them is likely to be elevated to playing duties on Friday.

That would be long snapper Simon Chaves, who played one game with the Argos last season and was cut by Ottawa at last month’s camp.

Chaves will be needed to fill in for Peter Adjey, who has aggravated a hamstring injury.

Also signed was OL Dayton Black, the Tiger-Cats first-round pick in 2023, and receiver Luther Hakunavanhu, a 6-foot-4, 198-pounder who last season with Hamilton caught nine passes for 171 yards and four touchdowns while being limited to eight games because of a head injury.

Hakunavanhu provides insurance for Ottawa, which lost Nick Mardner during camp to a season-ending knee injury, but the team is also quite pleased with the emergence of Keelan White, this year’s third-overall pick. who grabbed four throws for 41 yards against the Roughriders.

The Redblacks lost safety Alonzo Addae to an injury in the Saskatchewan game and Dyce said they’re waiting for test results, but are hoping he’ll be good to go against Montreal. If not, the more-than-capable Charlie Ringland will get the start.

Defensive back/SAM linebacker Bennett Williams also left Thursday’s game but was back on the practice field Monday.

The QB’s TAKEAWAY

“I thought there were a lot of good things to build on,” Brown said of the opener. “But I think that as an offensive unit, we just have to be taking advantage of takeaways and making sure that we come out with points on those. Situationally, we just have to execute a little bit better.”