Highest-paid linebacker A.J. Allen takes benching from Ottawa Redblacks in stride

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Six months ago, the Ottawa Redblacks made A.J. Allen the highest-paid linebacker in the Canadian Football League.

One week ago, they benched him.

The move coincided with the firing of defensive coordinator William Fields, who was replaced by Jeff Reinebold. Allen wasn’t given any reason for the change, though it doesn’t appear he’s wasted any time feeling sorry for himself since he was told the news.

“(Head coach and general manager Ryan Dinwiddie) and Jeff made that decision, so that’s something I have to respect and continue onwards, and still understand I have a role to play in helping us win football games,’” Allen told 3DownNation on Thursday.

“At the end of the day, it’s just important to be a team player. I don’t think there was much explanation. It was kind of like, ‘Yo, this is what’s going to happen,’ and I’m a team player.”

The 28-year-old was one of the CFL’s most impactful defenders last season, recording 87 defensive tackles, four sacks, three interceptions, and three forced fumbles to help the Saskatchewan Roughriders win the 112th Grey Cup.

Allen made an iconic play in the West Final when he tackled Nathan Rourke short of the sticks on second down with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The B.C. Lions were forced to punt, which led to a game-winning Saskatchewan drive that was capped by a touchdown pass from Trevor Harris to Tommy Nield.

The native of Burlington, Ont. capitalized on the success, joining the Redblacks on a contract worth $240,000 in hard money for 2026. He is believed to be the highest-paid linebacker in the CFL’s salary cap era and is the third-highest-paid defensive player in the league.

Despite the big pay day, Allen didn’t get the chance to start against his former team last week.

The six-foot, 235-pound defender was benched in favour of Lucas Cormier, a fourth-year veteran out of Mount Allison University. The native of Sackville, N.B. played well in Allen’s place, notching nine defensive tackles, one interception, and one pass knockdown.

As per Pro Football Focus, Cormier played 65 defensive snaps in the game for Ottawa.

Allen played six.

“We just thought Lucas was playing good football,” said Dinwiddie. “Lucas is a different style of linebacker. He can play in the sky a little bit more, so we kind of adjusted our scheme to put Lucas out there.

“He had two great picks in practice this week, he’s been doing a great job, so that’s kind of what led to that. A.J. is a great box player. We still get him out on the field, but Lucas kind of took the next step, and that’s where we went with it.”

Allen is trying to do everything he can to help the Redblacks earn their first win of the season, even if it’s in a depth role.

“I’ve been trying to use my brain and help them watching film or if I have any advice technique-wise,” said Allen. “Instead of being out there, I can say, ‘Hey, I see this, this is what they’re trying to do, this is how we can take it away.’ Things like that.

“I can also maybe help with technique things. ‘This is how I think you can get there faster, this is where your eyes should be pre-play, post-play.’ In terms of the defence, that’s how I’m going to approach it.”

When asked if he regrets the way Ottawa chose to allocate its resources in free agency, Dinwiddie was non-committal.

“I don’t know about that,” he said. “In free agency, you try to build it right away — you’re trying to build a team, and teams have done that in this league. I would say maybe not as aggressive as signing players, and maybe hanging our hat on that we got some youth guys our scouting department had to go find us.

“Hindsight’s 20-20. That’s something you can look back on. Obviously, it just hasn’t worked out for us. We’re 0-8. We’re gonna have to look at that approach again next year, but we’re focused on this year.”

Despite the winless season and being benched, it doesn’t appear Allen has any remorse over his decision to sign in the nation’s capital.

“I don’t have regrets,” he said. “I tried my best to make the decision with the information I had at the time, so I can’t have regrets for doing what I think is right for me and mine. As a man or as anybody, it’s all you can do.”

The Ottawa Redblacks (0-8) will visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (4-4) at Princess Auto Stadium on Friday, August 14 with kickoff scheduled for 8:30 p.m. EDT. The Redblacks suffered a 42-20 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders last week, while the Blue Bombers were on bye.

The weather forecast in Winnipeg calls for 23 degrees with a mix of sun and cloud. The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS2 in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on TSN 1200 in Ottawa or 680 CJOB in Winnipeg.

John Hodge is a longtime Canadian football reporter, insider, and podcaster for 3DownNation. Based in Winnipeg, Hodge is also a freelance television and radio broadcaster and curling reporter for Rock Channel.