The Ottawa Redblacks will visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday in a game between the last two winless teams in the CFL.
The Redblacks (0-4) are expected to start 23-year-old Caleb Evans at quarterback in place of Jeremiah Masoli, who could be out for 10-12 weeks after leg surgery.
Ottawa obtained quarterback Nick Arbuckle in a trade with the Edmonton Elks this week, but the Redblacks are counting on Evans’ experience from last season when he started several games to replace injured starters.
“Being thrown into the fire last year, he sees coverage very well,” Redblacks coach Paul LaPolice said. “He’s more relaxed, he’s not a young kid anymore; he’s got a year under his belt. He’s got a good arm and he’s able to, at times if he needs to, use his legs. The players around him have to help him, make sure we’re not one-dimensional.”
Masoli was injured last Friday in the 28-13 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The CFL suspended Saskatchewan defensive lineman Garrett Marino four games for the hit that caused the injury and his other conduct during the game.
Masoli was with the Tiger-Cats (0-4) from 2013-21, including last season when they lost to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Grey Cup.
Center/guard Darius Ciraco, receiver Jaelon Acklin and defensive lineman Lorenzo Mauldin IV are other former Tiger-Cats who joined the Redblacks this season.
Tiger-Cats quarterback Dane Evans said adjustments to the offense have been made.
“We know we have to start running the ball better,” he said. “That doesn’t mean we’re going to run it 55 times, but when we do run it we need to be physical at the point of attack and get productive yards out of it. That’s been kind of our motto this week.”
Hamilton has not played since July 1, a 29-25 loss to Edmonton when Evans’ fumble in the final two minutes was returned for a touchdown.
Hamilton defensive back Cariel Brooks (back) and offensive lineman Kyle Saxelid (ankle) are out for Saturday.
Ottawa defensive backs Patrick Levels (knee) and Abdul Kanneh (ankle) are out.
–Field Level Media