The

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Starting ...

season was the fifth season for the team in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

. The Redblacks improved upon their 8–9–1 record from 2017, winning their ninth game against the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

in an October 19 game, and finished with an 11–7 record. The team clinched a playoff berth and home playoff game for the fourth season in a row following the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

' week 17 loss on October 6, 2018. After defeating the Tiger-Cats in the East Final, the Redblacks played in their third

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

championship in four years, but lost to the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third ...

in the

106th Grey Cup The 106th Grey Cup (branded as the 106th Grey Cup presented by Shaw for sponsorship reasons) was the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship game for the 2018 season. It was played on November 25, 2018, between the Ottawa Redblacks and the C ...

game. This was the fifth season with Marcel Desjardins as

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all ...

and

Rick Campbell Rick Campbell (born December 20, 1970) is an American-born Canadian football head coach and co-general manager for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. He was the Calgary Stampeders' defensive coordinator from 2012 to 2013 and was also an ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other Coach (sport), coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manage ...

Off-season

Open Tryout Sessions

On February 15, 2018, the Redblacks announced they would be holding open tryouts across North America during the spring. The dates and locations are listed in the table below:

Coaching Staff

On November 29, 2017 the Redblacks announced they would not bring back four of their assistant coaches (

Travis Moore Travis Moore (born August 5, 1970) is a former professional Canadian football coach who is currently serving as the receivers and pass game coordinator coach for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Moore has also been ...

, Bryan Chiu, Derek Oswalt &

Ike Charlton Isaiah "Ike" Charlton (born October 6, 1977) is a former professional Canadian football linebacker and currently the defensive backs coach for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). As a player, he spent most of his professio ...

) from the previous season. On December 4, 2017 the Redblacks announced the hire of Noel Thorpe as defensive coordinator (Thorpe will double as the defensive backs coach as well). Mark Nelson, who had been the team's defensive coordinator for four seasons, will remain with the club as a linebackers coach. Thorpe had been the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach of the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

for the previous five seasons.

Free-Agency

The 2018 CFL free agency period officially opened at 12:00pm EST on February 13, 2018. Key transactions are listed below:

Retained

Additions

Departed

CFL draft

The

2018 CFL Draft The 2018 CFL Draft took place on May 3, 2018, at 8:00 pm ET and was broadcast on TSN and RDS... Sixty-nine players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in ...

took place on May 3, 2018. The Redblacks held seven selections in the eight round draft after trading their fifth-round pick to

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

for

Drew Tate Drew Tate (born October 8, 1984) is an American gridiron football coach and former player. He is the tight ends coach at the University of Northern Iowa, a position he had held since 2022. He played college football as a quarterback at the Unive ...

and forfeiting their sixth-round pick after selecting Austin Reuland in the 2017 Supplemental Draft.Redblacks acquire Drew Tate in trade with Stamps
/ref> They then acquired another fourth-round pick after trading

Jake Ceresna Jacob Tanner Ceresna (born July 9, 1994) is an American football defensive end for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Cortland. Ceresna has also been a member of the New York Jets, Ottawa Redbl ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...

for

Odell Willis Odell Willis (born December 28, 1984), nicknamed "the Mayor of Swaggerville", is a professional Canadian football defensive end who is a free agent. He was most recently a member of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He w ...

and then trading Willis to the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

for the draft pick.Lions acquire Willis after trade from Esks to Redblacks
/ref>

Preseason

Schedule

2018 Ottawa Redblacks Schedule
/ref> : Games played with colour uniforms.

Regular season

Standings

Schedule

: Games played with colour uniforms. : Games played with white uniforms.

Post-season

Schedule

With their victory over the

, the

clinched their third

birth in four years having won the 2016 Championship Game in Toronto.

Trevor Harris Trevor Harris (born May 31, 1986) is an American professional Canadian football quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2010. Ha ...

threw a playoff record six touchdown passes in the game, surpassing a record

Anthony Calvillo Anthony Calvillo (born August 23, 1972) is the quarterbacks coach for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and is a former professional Canadian football quarterback. He was professional football's all-time passing yards ...

set in the 2009 East Final against the BC Lions. With the victory, the Redblacks qualified to play the

in the

, a re-match of the game from two years prior. The Redblacks lost 27-16 in a game that they never had the lead against the heavily favoured Stampeders. : Games played with colour uniforms. : Games played with white uniforms.

Team

Roster

Coaching staff

References

{{Ottawa Redblacks seasons 2018 Canadian Football League season by team 2018 in Ontario Ottawa Redblacks seasons