Why Redblacks' career sacks leader Lorenzo Mauldin IV is not looking like his old self
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Like his team as a whole, Lorenzo Mauldin’s numbers are way down.
Through one-third of the 2025 CFL season, the Ottawa Redblacks’ career sacks leader has yet to put a quarterback on the ground.
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Along with having a zero in the sacks column, Mauldin has just eight tackles in six games.
It’s an uncharacteristic stat line for the 32-year-old defensive end, who is one of the team’s top-paid and generally most productive players.
Mired in a three-game losing slump that has dragged them to the basement of the CFL standings, the Redblacks believe they are much better than the 1-5 record indicates.
Mauldin believes a turnaround is imminent.
“We’re out there putting in our work, and of course it’s not showing, but it’s semi-early,” the former New York Jet and Hamilton Tiger-Cat said Thursday after the team’s practice at TD Place. “We’re definitely going to find our way, and we’re going to go on a tear.”
After recording 30 sacks over the last three seasons — including a CFL-leading 17 in 2022 and a league co-leading eight last year — Mauldin is also confident he’ll find his way to the quarterback again.
“The numbers will be there,” he said. “I have to go out there and continue to do what I’m doing. I’m getting there, it’s just that the ball is either out (of the QB’s hand) or on the way. It’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of when.”
What are the factors that have contributed to Mauldin’s slow start?
Age is not one of them.
In fact, Mauldin is in tip-top shape since shaving almost 20 pounds from his 6-foot-4 frame in the off-season.
“I feel like I haven’t lost a step,” said Mauldin, who dropped from 285 pounds to 266. “I’ve lost weight. That’s the only thing lost. In the off-season I made sure I was not losing muscle but focusing on the fat. I came out here a lot faster, and definitely feel like I’m able to keep my strength and everything. At the end of the day, I’m just out there working within this game and making sure that I do my job so that the defence can prosper.”
The defence did throw a speed bump in front of the fast-moving Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday. After scoring 86 points in their previous two games, the Tiger-Cats managed just 23 against Ottawa.
But getting to the quarterback remains a problem for the Redblacks, who, under new defensive coordinator Will Fields, have just seven sacks in six games.
After setting the high bar with eight each in 2024, Mauldin and Michael Wakefield have combined for just one.
“I’m not tooting my horn or anything, but with me being the type of caliber player I am and with Bryce (Carter) on the other end, (opponents) have to double team and triple team us, and bring in receivers to take us off the edge,” said Mauldin. “There’s no excuse for why I don’t have a sack or anything yet. I’m doing what I can, when I can, and whatever I have to do to help the defence.”
Asked about the challenges of having a new DC, he added: “With any team, with any defence, with any offence, you get a new coordinator and you’re definitely doing some different things that you were doing in the last scheme. But it’s for the better. You’re definitely learning new things. I’m learning new things at the position that I’m playing, and again, we’re going to go on a tear here soon. We just have to have everybody get comfortable.”
Are the Redblacks in danger of missing the playoffs?
It’s too early, or as Mauldin calls it, “semi-early”, to say that.
They have the same number record as the Argos, but remember, three teams from each division don’t necessarily qualify for post-season play. The fourth-place team in the West will cross over if it has a better record than the third-place team on this side, and right now that’s the 3-3 B.C. Lions.
However, the slope the Redbacks are currently sliding down will get slipperier if they lose again to the Tiger-Cats — who have won three straight and now sit first in the East — when the teams meet again Sunday at TD Place.
“Every game is a must-win, obviously, but at the same time, every game you (lose) takes down your opportunities as you move forward,” said head coach Bob Dyce. “So yeah, you have to have a sense of urgency. (Hamilton) is an Eastern team, team that’s ahead of us in the standings, and so we have to tighten up. We know where we want to get to. It’s an important game. You can’t say it’s a must game, a playoff game is a must-win game, but you can be of the mindset that we have to be at our best this week to do everything that we can that will result in a victory.”
What’s the latest with the Redblacks’ injury report?
The concerning news is that cornerback Adrian Frye (shoulder) is likely going back on the shelf two games after he missed one with a knee injury.
His spot in the secondary could be filled by fellow American Deandre Lamont, who has practiced in full this week after being out with a hamstring issue.
Better news, as far as the ratio goes, is that former Carleton Raven Justin Howell looks like he’ll play his first game of the season after being out with a foot injury.
It also looks like former Mount Allison Mounties linebacker Lucas Cormier will make his first start at the WILL position, giving the Redblacks more ratio flexibility.
Cormier had three defensive tackles and a tackle for a loss while seeing spot duty last week.
“Lucas is a fantastic player,” said Dyce. “How we looked at practice is likely how we’ll go.”
Former St. Mary’s Huskies defensive lineman Aidan John (knee) was also practicing in full and could return, while Global player Tyron Vrede suffered an ankle injury in Hamilton that has prevented him from practising so far this week.
Veteran receiver Luther Hakunavanu, a former York Lion who had nine catches for 171 yards and four TDs with the Tiger-Cats last year, could also see an increased role in the Redblacks’ offence.
What did the Redblacks learn from their 23-20 loss in Hamilton last Saturday, a game they led until the final two minutes?
Dyce prefers to look ahead rather than in the past, especially at a game that was played so recently, but did take a glance over his shoulder with references on this occasion.
“We’re focused on making sure we have our best performance this week, and attack this week, and play great football in critical situations,” he said. “One of the things we talk about is maximizing opportunities, whether that’s a drive starting at the 30-yard line or 40-yard line, we’ve got to score touchdowns. Conversely, like the defence did last week. They’re in tough field position. They’ve got to go out there, and they’ve got to deny touchdowns. We have to be focused and more consistent throughout the whole game.”
Mauldin admitted the loss in Hamilton was extremely frustrating.
“We have to realize as a team that we need to finish,” he said. “We’ve had plenty of close games in the past, and that was definitely one of those times where we didn’t finish and we had to capitalize on it.”
What individual milestones will be reached this week?
Sunday will mark the 100th career game for both starting middle linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox and fullback/special teamer Anthony Gosselin, who played his college ball with the Sherbrooke Vert et Or.
While Santos-Knox is well known for his leadership and defensive impact (he’s second on the team in tackles), Gosselin’s contributions are understated.
“It’s a big game for both of them … it says a lot about individuals to get to that mark,” said Dyce, a former special-teams coach who was asked specifically about Gosselin.
“We talk about who he is as a person and why he’s been able to last this long. It’s funny, when he came in early in his career, he was a guy who was on the roster and off. He was always on special teams and he’d always be in my office, persistent, saying, ‘This is what I could do, this is what I want to do, what do I need to do better?’ And he has continued in that vein throughout his whole career. He is one of the rare guys that you will see who, in his 30s, continues to get better. He is the ultimate in what you would want in a team player. He was willing to do anything possible for the team. It’s not about him, it’s about how he can help the team. The effort and work he puts in, in the off-season …. He’s a phenomenal family man, and he’s a great team man. You could talk to anyone on this team, and I don’t think you would find anyone who would say anything bad about Anthony. He is not a vocal leader, but he leads by example, and sometimes those are the best leaders you can possibly have, because anything that you ask him to do, he’s going to do it 100 percent. And like I said, he’s not doing it for himself, he’s doing it for the team.”
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