Who will be the Ottawa Redblacks QB this week and why it might be the least of their concerns

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Just when it looked like Dru Brown would be returning as the Ottawa Redblacks quarterback this week, all bets are suddenly off.

Brown, a limited participant when the team returned to work in preparation for Saturday’s game in Calgary against the undefeated Stampeders, stepped back at Wednesday’s practice while Dustin Crum was given first-team reps.

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Afterwards, head coach Bob Dyce wouldn’t rule Brown out, but said it will be Crum and not Matt Shiltz getting the start against the Stamps.

Shiltz, a veteran backup who was signed as a free agent to be Brown’s primary backup, threw three interceptions in his Redblacks debut last week, a 39-18 loss to the Montreal Alouettes.

“We’re just taking Dru day by day and going forward from there,” Dyce said Wednesday. “If Dru were not to go, we wanted to make sure Dusty got some reps going into this game. Today was a perfect day to give Dru a chance to rest up a little bit.”

After throwing the ball as a limited participant on Tuesday, Brown was asked for an update on the hip injury he suffered in the season opener that prevented him from dressing for the Montreal game.

“I feel like I’m getting better,” Brown said. “It’s good to be back out there with the guys, for sure.

“We’ll see how it goes moving forward.”

Dyce refused to say Brown suffered a setback, but explained that “sometimes things like that get fatigued.”

The weather forecast on Saturday has Calgary being hit with strong winds and heavy rainfall.

That may have played a part in Dyce’s decision to go with Crum, a third-year Redblack who runs the ball well, over Shiltz.

“Coming out of training camp, things were very equal (between Crum and Shiltz),” Dyce said. “We obviously went with Matt (as Brown’s backup), but Dusty had a fantastic camp as well, and felt he deserved an opportunity to maybe move up and go from there. It’s still early, so we’re still evaluating, and both those guys are fantastic, along with (fourth-stringer) Tyrie (Adams). And so we decided to elevate Dusty for this week.”

If Brown can play, and conditions are passable, history suggests it would be a big boost for the Redblacks as they look for their first win of the season.

Since relieving Winnipeg Blue Bomber starter Zach Collaros halfway through a season-ending 13-12 loss in Calgary four years ago, he has faced them three times as a starter and won each game with a combined 74.1 per cent completion percentage and no interceptions.

On Aug. 18, 2023, Brown was good on 17 of 27 tosses for 171 yards in leading the Bombers to a 19-18 victory at McMahon Stadium, and on Oct. 27 of the same season, at the same venue, he connected with 13 of 17 throws for 278 yards and two touchdowns in a 36-13 win.

Last year, his first with the Redblacks, Brown was outstanding in a 33-6, July 26 triumph over the Stamps at TD Place, finding his target on 30 of 37 passes for 325 yards and a TD.

An injury kept him from playing in the 31-29 victory at McMahon Stadium on Aug. 15 that ended with Lewis Ward’s 51-yard field goal with no time left on the clock.

The Redblacks lost their 2025 season opener 31-26 in Saskatchewan with Brown at quarterback, but he completed 34 of 41 passes for 413 yards and two touchdowns, and he might have rallied them to victory if not for suffering the hip injury on the second-to-last offensive series.

So if, as expected, he plays on Saturday, the offence shouldn’t be a problem against a team that, with Vernon Adams Jr. at quarterback, defeated the Hamilton Ticats 38-26 in Calgary in Week 1 and then went on the road to beat the Toronto Argos 29-19 in Week 2.

But the Ottawa defence, under new co-ordinator Will Fields, has suffered growing pains.

Why have the Redblacks allowed a league-high 70 points through the first two weeks of the season?

No, the early stages of the transition from Barron Miles’ defence to that of Fields, a first-time co-ordinator, have not gone smoothly.

The Redblacks are tied with Hamilton for most offensive touchdowns allowed (seven), have surrendered the most field goals (seven), have given up the second-most net offence allowed (804), have given up the most yards per play (8.12) and are tied for the second-most first downs allowed (44) and most 30-plus yard pass completions allowed (five).

For Ottawa defenders, many of whom were with the team through the Miles era, Fields says there is new “terminology and expectations.”

“You’re running a new defence and you might see a new look that maybe you hadn’t seen in practice or something like that,” he said. “So there’s always an adjustment period, But I think we’re doing well. I think we’re hanging in early, and we’ve just got to polish up some of those explosives, and we have to get after the quarterback, but it will come. They’ve done that before.”

The defence will make at least one change on Saturday, with Frankie Griffen replacing the injured Davion Taylor as the starting weak-side linebacker.

Why do the Redblacks have just one sack, by Blessman Ta’ala, and it wasn’t until the fourth quarter of the second game?

Last season, Lorenzo Mauldin and Michael Wakefield were the CFL’s co-leaders in sacks and, in 2023, Bryce Carter was tied for second.

What’s preventing them from getting to the quarterback more now?

“I think it’s just things that they’ve probably done in the past that we might have changed up a little bit,” said Fields. “And we’re still all getting to know each other, so I’m getting to find out more about what they do well, and they’ve got to get comfortable with the defense in order to play fast.

“Right now, everybody’s still thinking a little bit too much and not playing as fast as we could play if we knew it by heart.”

Is there a sense of discouragement among the defensive players?

“No, we’re definitely not discouraged,” said Fields. “We know it’s early, and they know things are new, but there have been encouraging moments within the game. In the first game, we finished extremely well, and then in the second game, we did well with having the other team backed up and getting off the field. So it’s just consistency, and I think that just comes with being more comfortable in something new.

“I see a good group that’s willing to learn. It’s taking a little time to pick everything up, but I see a good group. The future looks good for us, I think.”

As someone who coached in Toronto from 2022-2024, are you keeping an eye on the O-2 Argos?

“Not much, not much,” Fields said with a laugh. “But it’s all love. I still root for them when we’re not playing them. There are a lot of great guys over there.”

How nice would it be to pick up your first win as Redblacks DC in Calgary, where you were a DB for four seasons (2001-2004) and won a Grey Cup as a rookie?

“That would be amazing because I have a lot of attachments over there in Calgary,” said Fields. “It’s always good to beat them, and definitely for my year here as a DC, to beat Calgary, in Calgary, that would be amazing for sure.”