Ottawa Redblacks shuffle secondary against Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Photo: Gord Weber/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

The Ottawa Redblacks have made several changes to their secondary ahead of Sunday’s game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The team released its official depth chart on Saturday morning.

Shakur Brown will start at boundary cornerback after spending the past two weeks on the practice roster. The 27-year-old product of Michigan State made three starts at field-side cornerback earlier this year, recording 11 defensive tackles.

Dionté Ruffin, who signed with the team this week, will start at boundary halfback. The four-year CFL veteran played eight regular-season games with the Montreal Alouettes last season, making five starts and recording 11 defensive tackles. He attended training camp with the B.C. Lions but was released prior to the start of the regular-season.

Ruffin has replaced Jeremy Lucien, who has been placed on the six-game injured list due to a shoulder injury. Bennett Williams started Ottawa’s first four games at boundary halfback but he was recently ruled out for the season due to a torn Achilles.

Amari Henderson is listed as Ottawa’s starter at field-side halfback, though he’s considered a game-time decision due to a calf injury.

Demerio Houston, who has made 14 defensive tackles and one special teams tackle through five starts this year, has moved from boundary cornerback to field-side cornerback. Adrian Frye, who started at field-side cornerback last week, has been moved to the six-game injured list due to a hand injury.

As indicated by head coach and general manager Ryan Dinwiddie earlier this week, Aaron Casey will start at middle linebacker in place of Nyles Morgan. Morgan, who suffered a broken hand last week, has been moved to the six-game injured list.

Casey signed with the Redblacks after he was released by the Toronto Argonauts near the end of training camp. The six-foot-two, 235-pound native of Douglasville, Ga. played 15 regular-season games with the Argonauts in 2025, making 36 total tackles, six sacks, and one forced fumble.

Luiji Vilain will make his first career CFL start at defensive end in place of Habakkuk Baldonado, who was fined twice following the team’s loss in Edmonton. The defender signed with his hometown team in April following a four-year run in the NFL. The 28-year-old has recorded two defensive tackles and one special teams tackle through his first five CFL season games.

Keelan White has returned to the starting lineup after missing Ottawa’s last two games with an ankle injury. The former first-round CFL draft pick made 10 catches for 99 yards and two touchdowns over the team’s first three games.

The Redblacks removed two other players from the active roster, placing receiver Binjimen Victor on the practice roster and defensive lineman Cleyon Laing on the six-game injured list (knee). Victor started last week but didn’t make any catches, while Laing has recorded two tackles and one sack so far this year.

Ottawa has also promoted defensive lineman Blessman Ta’ala and linebacker K.J. Cloyd from the practice roster. Ta’ala, a former first overall pick in the CFL Global Draft, has made 30 defensive tackles, six sacks, and one forced fumble over 50 career regular-season CFL games. This will be Cloyd’s first career CFL game.

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The Ottawa Redblacks (0-5) will host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (3-2) on Sunday, July 19 with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The Blue Bombers are coming off a 30-21 win over the Toronto Argonauts, while the Redblacks lost 40-17 against the Edmonton Elks.

The weather forecast in Ottawa calls for a high of 27 degrees and a mix of sun and cloud. The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS2 in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune in on 680 CJOB in Winnipeg or TSN 1200 in Ottawa.

Ottawa Redblacks