Dru Brown asked for his outright release from the Ottawa Redblacks one month ago, on the same training camp day he found out he had lost his job as the team’s starting quarterback to Jake Maier. Now Brown is the backup QB in Winnipeg behind Zach Collaros — who is eight years older and has three more Grey Cup rings than Maier — working in the exact same position he held before signing with Ottawa as a free agent in 2024.
Dinwiddie Explains the Decision
“When I made a decision to go with Jake and explained that to Dru, later that day, he wanted to talk, we had a chat, and he just asked for his release,” Redblacks head coach/GM Ryan Dinwiddie said on Wednesday as the 0-2 team returned to practice and preparation for this weekend’s game in Montreal against the Alouettes. “Obviously, we’re not going to do that. We already invested money in him. So we’ve been looking at different avenues on how we’re going to handle that solution, and Winnipeg, you know, came up with the offer that we really liked, and I knew I could get McLeod in here, so we made that decision.”
Trade Details and Replacement
“McLeod” is McLeod Bethel-Thompson, an eight-season CFL veteran who, like Collaros, is 37. Bethel-Thompson, who won a Grey Cup in Toronto with Dinwiddie in 2022, played with Montreal last season but was unemployed until Brown was traded to the Blue Bombers for a first-round pick and a swap of seconds this week. The Redblacks didn’t bring him to camp because they already had two veteran quarterbacks in Maier and Brown.
Because of commitments back home in the U.S., Bethel-Thompson won’t join the Redblacks until next week, which means 24-year-old rookie Bryson Barnes will back up Maier Sunday in Montreal. Barnes spent four seasons at Utah and two at Utah State before being a late addition to the Redblacks’ training camp roster in May. His only experience as a pro was during a relief preseason appearance against the Alouettes, in which Barnes completed 10 of 13 passes for 144 yards and carried the ball three times for 22 yards, including a nine-yard run for a touchdown.
Dinwiddie Confident in Barnes
“Bryson got all the (second-team) reps today, and he looked sharp,” said Dinwiddie. “I think Bryson’s arrow’s up, he’s getting better each week he’s practised and he showed us a lot in the preseason. The one thing he can use is his legs, so he’ll handle our short yards (snaps) Sunday, but if he goes in and plays, we feel comfortable with Bryson.”
Maier Earned the Starting Role
Why did Dinwiddie name Maier his starter before Brown took a pre-season snap? Maier was outstanding in his pre-season debut against Montreal, completing 16 of 23 passes for 190 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but the offence struggled when he started the second and final exhibition game against the Als at TD Place. Brown excelled in relief, completing seven of eight throws for 69 yards and two touchdowns, but never touched the ball again after that brief second-quarter action.
