The 2016 Ottawa Redblacks season was the third season for the team in the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Redblacks finished in first place in the East Division with an 8–9–1 record. This was the first time in CFL history that a team with a losing record finished first in their division. The 2016 season was the third with Rick Campbell as head coach and Marcel Desjardins as general manager.
The club failed to match their 12–6 record from the previous season; nevertheless, with their week 19 win in Winnipeg against the Blue Bombers the Redblacks repeated as regular season East Division champions, earning a bye to and the right to host the 2016 East Final in the process.
The Redblacks' season featured the first-ever Grey Cup rematch to take place in an earlier round of the playoffs as the 2015 champion Edmonton Eskimos qualified as a crossover team for the East Division playoffs and advanced to the Eastern Final. The Redblacks avenged their 2015 Grey Cup loss with a 35–23 victory over Edmonton to earn the right to play in the 104th Grey Cup. At BMO Field in Toronto, the Redblacks won the first championship for an Ottawa CFL team since the Rough Riders did it in 1976.
Off-season
Open tryout sessions On February 2, 2016, the Redblacks announced they would be holding open tryouts across North America during the spring. The dates and locations are listed in the table below: LocationVenueDateMiami, FloridaFlorida International UniversityFebruary 27, 2016Atlanta, GeorgiaLakewood StadiumFebruary 28, 2016Austin, TexasBastrop Memorial StadiumApril 9, 2016Las Vegas, NevadaBill 'Wildcat' Morris Rebel ParkApril 10, 2016Ottawa, OntarioTD Place StadiumApril 23, 2016Indianapolis, IndianaDecatur Central High SchoolMay 21, 2016
Free-agency Prior to the start of free-agency at 12:00pm ET on February 9, 2016, the RedBlacks extended the contracts of some significant players. They brought back defensive lineman Zack Evans, wide-receiver Chris Williams and linebacker Damaso Munoz.
Additions Ottawa made a big splash on the first day of free-agency when they signed highly coveted former-Argos QB Trevor Harris. Harris played very well in 17 games for the Argos in 2015; completing 71% of his passes attempts with 33 touchdowns and 19 interceptions for 4,354 yards. Harris was expected to be the back-up quarterback behind the then 41-year old, 2015 Most Outstanding Player, Henry Burris. Veteran national defensive back Ryan Hinds agreed to terms with Ottawa in the middle of February. Hinds spent his first seven CFL seasons between the Tiger-Cats and the Eskimos. However, Hinds decided to retire citing that "his heart wasn't in it and he wasn't going to play anymore". Former Oakland Raiders and New York Giants wide receiver Juron Criner signed with the Redblacks on April 14 in time for training camp. Following a successful pre-season Criner made the final roster.
Losses Star defensive end Justin Capicciotti signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders on February 10. Capicciotti had been one of Ottawa's best pass-rushers in the previous two seasons, totaling 23 sacks and just shy of 100 tackles. Also on February 10, starting running back Jeremiah Johnson signed with the BC Lions. In two seasons with the Redblacks Johnson saw action in 15 games (missing 8 games due to injury in 2015), carrying the ball 135 times for 686 yards (5.0 average) with 11 rushing touchdowns. Veteran defensive back Jovon Johnson signed with the Montreal Alouettes. Javon Johnson was an Eastern All-Star in 2015 and was one of the leaders on the defensive side of the ball. Offensive tackle Colin Kelly signed a contract with the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL. Kelly played 18 games in 2015 for Ottawa at right tackle. Veteran defensive lineman Keith Shologan signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Shologon contributed 7 sacks during the 2015 campaign. Defensive lineman Shawn Lemon was released by the Redblacks following the conclusion of the 2015 season so he could pursue NFL opportunities. He ultimately signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in January.
CFL draft The 2016 CFL draft took place on May 10, 2016. The Redblacks had nine selections in the eight-round draft after acquiring Saskatchewan's sixth and seventh-round picks in exchange for Maurice Price and their own sixth-round pick.
Round Pick Player Position School 1 7 Jason Lauzon-Seguin OL Laval 2 16 Mikael Charland DB Concordia 3 25 Mehdi Abdesmad DL Boston College 4 35 Kevin Jackson LB Sam Houston State 5 43 Randy Beardy OL Windsor 6 45 Kyle Fraser-Audit OL Guelph 7 54 Arto Khatchikian LB Concordia 7 60 Jamal Kett WR Western Ontario 8 69 Guillaume Tremblay-Lebel LB Laval
Training camp Non-mandatory spring mini-camp was held on April 24–26 at TD Place stadium. The sessions were open for the public to view. Mandatory training camp took place between May 29 and through June 19. First-year CFL players had three practices prior to the official training camp (May 25 through 27). The majority of practices took place at TD Place Stadium, with two at Carleton University and one at Stade Mont-Bleu in Gatineau, Quebec. The team conducted a "mock-game" as part of their training camp on June 5. This was the first training camp season in which the Redblacks had priority at TD Place, as the stadium was under construction in 2014 and hosting the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup last year.
Preseason
Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results TV Venue Attendance Summary Score RecordA Mon, June 13 7:00 p.m. EDT vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 18–14 1–0 TSN TD Place Stadium 17,947 RecapB Fri, June 17 7:30 p.m. EDT at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 25–42 1–1 Ticats.ca Tim Hortons Field Recap
2016 Schedule
Games played with white uniforms.
Regular season
Standings
Schedule Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results TV Venue Attendance Summary Score Record1 Sat, June 25 7:00 p.m. EDT at Edmonton Eskimos W 45–37 (OT) 1–0 TSN/RDS Commonwealth Stadium 27,846 Recap2 Thurs, June 30 7:00 p.m. EDT at Montreal Alouettes W 28–13 2–0 TSN/RDS/ESPN2 Molson Stadium 21,522 Recap3 Fri, July 8 7:00 p.m. EDT vs. Calgary Stampeders T 26–26 (2OT) 2–0–1 TSN/RDS TD Place Stadium 24,621 Recap4 Wed, July 13 7:30 p.m. EDT at Toronto Argonauts W 30–20 3–0–1 TSN/RDS BMO Field 12,373 Recap5 Fri, July 22 9:00 p.m. EDT at Saskatchewan Roughriders L 29–30 3–1–1 TSN/RDS2 Mosaic Stadium 30,172 Recap6 Sun, July 31 7:30 p.m. EDT vs. Toronto Argonauts L 20–23 3–2–1 TSN/RDS/ESPN2 TD Place Stadium 24,894 Recap7 Sat, Aug 6 7:00 p.m. EDT vs. Edmonton Eskimos W 23–20 4–2–1 TSN TD Place Stadium 24,560 Recap 8 Bye9 Fri, Aug 19 7:00 p.m. EDT vs. Montreal Alouettes L 19–43 4–3–1 TSN/RDS TD Place Stadium 24,907 Recap10 Thurs, Aug 25 7:30 p.m. EDT vs. BC Lions L 23–29 4–4–1 TSN/RDS/ESPN2 TD Place Stadium 24,677 Recap11 Thurs, Sept 1 7:30 p.m. EDT at Montreal Alouettes W 19–14 5–4–1 TSN/RDS Molson Stadium 19,117 Recap 12 Bye13 Sat, Sept 17 5:00 p.m. EDT at Calgary Stampeders L 23–48 5–5–1 TSN McMahon Stadium 26,529 Recap14 Fri, Sept 23 7:00 p.m. EDT vs. Toronto Argonauts W 29–12 6–5–1 TSN/RDS2 TD Place Stadium 25,088 Recap15 Sat, Oct 1 10:00 p.m. EDT at BC Lions L 33–40 6–6–1 TSN/RDS BC Place 19,703 Recap16 Fri, Oct 7 7:00 p.m. EDT vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders L 30–32 (OT) 6–7–1 TSN TD Place Stadium 24,668 Recap17 Fri, Oct 14 7:00 p.m. EDT at Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 30–29 7–7–1 TSN Tim Hortons Field 23,868 Recap18 Fri, Oct 21 7:00 p.m. EDT vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 36–39 (2OT) 7–8–1 TSN TD Place Stadium 24,210 Recap19 Sat, Oct 29 4:00 p.m. EDT at Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 23–10 8–8–1 TSN/RDS Investors Group Field 26,097 Recap20 Fri, Nov 4 7:00 p.m. EDT vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 20–33 8–9–1 TSN/RDS2 TD Place Stadium 24,432 Recap
Games played with colour uniforms. Games played with white uniforms.
Post-season Schedule Game Date Kickoff Opponent Results TV Venue Attendance Summary Score Record East Semi-Final ByeEast Final Sun, Nov 20 1:00 p.m. EST vs. Edmonton Eskimos W 35–23 1–0 TSN/RDS/ESPN2 TD Place Stadium 24,248 Recap104th Grey Cup Sun, Nov 27 6:00 p.m. EST vs. Calgary Stampeders W 39–33 (OT) 2–0 TSN/RDS/ESPN2 BMO Field 33,421 Recap
Games played with colour uniforms.
Over 40,000 fans attended the Grey Cup parade at Lansdowne Park two days following the game.
Roster 2016 Ottawa Redblacks final roster Quarterbacks
Running backs
Receivers
Offensive linemen G G T C T G G/C
Defensive linemen DT DT DE DT DT DE DT Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams LS K/P P/K
Practice roster G DE DB T DE SB DE LB WR LB Injured list LB DB LB DB QB LB DT RB LS K DE/DT P RB T DE T DE WR Italics indicate International player
Coaching staff 2016 Ottawa Redblacks staff Front office Owner – Jeff Hunt President and CEO – Bernie Ashe General Manager – Marcel Desjardins Assistant General Manager – Brock Sunderland Director of player personnel – Jeremy Snyder Pro Scout – Jean-Marc Edme Football Operations Assistant – Pier-Yves Lavergne Coordinator, Football Administration – Joey Swarbrick Video Coordinator – Colin Farquharson Assistant Video Coordinator – Braun Gheller
Head coaches Head coach – Rick Campbell
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Jaime Elizondo Offensive line – Bryan Chiu Receivers – Travis Moore Running Backs – Beau Walker Offensive assistant – Patrick Bourgon Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Mark Nelson Defensive line – Leroy Blugh Defensive backs – Ike Charlton Linebackers – Derek Oswalt
Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Bob Dyce
→ Coaching staff
References