The Ottawa Redblacks are turning to Jeremiah Masoli as their starting quarterback against the Calgary Stampeders.
Dru Brown suffered a right leg injury in the second quarter of the Redblacks' Week 10 game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Brown was at practice, but Masoli took the reps with the starters.
Head coach Bob Dyce confirmed to reporters after practice that Masoli would be the starter and that Brown's injury wasn't as bad as initially feared.
Dustin Crum took over in relief after Brown was forced to leave the game. He led Ottawa to a tie against Saskatchewan after helping the team to a last-minute drive in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime.
Masoli has been waiting for his chance to return to playing after suffering a season-ending Achilles injury in July 2023. It was the second time that Masoli had suffered a season-ending injury after suffering a leg injury.
He was back in the lineup as the third quarterback on the depth chart back in Week 8 against Calgary.
“It means the world to me,” Masoli told Postmedia's Don Brennan after his first practice back from injury. “It’s been a long time coming for sure. I’ve been through it, injury-wise, but just being able to fall back on my faith in God, my family, my wife my kids … and then obviously everybody here then outstanding in terms of just supporting me and making sure I feel comfortable enough to be back on the roster.”
The 35-year-old agreed to restructure his contract back in January to avoid getting released by Ottawa.
As part of the new agreement, Masoli reportedly received a $45,000 bonus on top of his $133,800 base salary. With incentives, he could earn up to $236,800.
The former Oregon star has appeared in just five games through two seasons with Ottawa, completing 90-of-136 passes (66.1 per cent) for 1,220 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
He joined Ottawa after starting his career with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. In 10 CFL seasons, Masoli has thrown for 16,675 yards, 82 TDs and 53 interceptions while rushing for 1,546 yards (5.9-yard average) and 20 touchdowns.
Masoli's injury history forced the Redblacks to make a trade with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for the rights to Brown ahead of free agency. The 27-year-old has thrown for 1,936 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions through eight games.
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