Ottawa isn’t naming its starting quarterback yet. New head coach Ryan Dinwiddie says Dru Brown and free-agent Jake Maier are competing for the job, with both expected to take first-half reps in Friday’s final pre-season game against the Montreal Alouettes.
With the season opener sitting less than two weeks away, the Ottawa Redblacks still don’t have their answer at quarterback.
At training camp on Tuesday, new head coach Ryan Dinwiddie refused to label the starting job as anyone’s alone, describing it as an open competition between incumbent Dru Brown and free-agent signing Jake Maier.
“It wouldn’t say it’s anybody’s to lose. I think someone’s got to take the job,” Dinwiddie told reporters. “That’s kind of my focus on it right now.”
Dinwiddie said he expects Brown and Maier to both get first-half reps in the team’s second and final pre-season game on Friday against the visiting Montreal Alouettes. Brown did not play in last week’s first pre-season game.
That opening game already gave Maier a strong calling card. Maier went 10-for-14 for 155 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the Redblacks’ win over Montreal.
Brown, meanwhile, arrives with a different kind of history in Ottawa. The 29-year-old led the Redblacks to the playoffs in his first season as a starter in 2023. But last season, injury cost him half the schedule, and when he did start, he finished 2-7 as a starter.
Maier is also 29, and his path to this moment has been shaped by roles. He was the Calgary Stampeders’ starter for 2.5 seasons before signing as backup to Trevor Harris last season with the Grey Cup-winning Saskatchewan Roughriders. Maier started two games last year, going 1-1.
The Redblacks will make their quarterback decision faster than the drama has felt so far. Ottawa opens the season on June 6 against the visiting Edmonton Elks.
The timing makes Friday’s split reps feel less like a formality and more like the next step toward a clear front-runner—because someone has to take the job, and Dinwiddie said that’s exactly what his staff is focused on right now.
Ottawa Redblacks Dru Brown Jake Maier Ryan Dinwiddie Montreal Alouettes quarterback competition CFL Edmonton Elks
So they’re still not picking a QB? That’s wild with two weeks left.
I saw Maier threw like 2 touchdowns last game so obviously he should start. Not sure why they’re doing all this “competition” stuff, just pick the guy who’s scoring.
Wait Brown didn’t play last week but they’re saying he’s incumbent? Sounds like they’re trying to save him for week 1 or something. Also 2-7 when he started?? idk how they can act like it’s even odds.
This feels like the same QB merry-go-round every year. One coach says open competition, next thing you know it’s “someone’s got to take the job” like that fixes anything. Maier looked good against Montreal but Montreal is always kinda mid so I’m reserving judgment. Then June 6 opener vs Edmonton… I swear they always wait till the last second and then act surprised.