Matthew Shiltz (born December 7, 1992) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

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

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Butler Bulldogs The Butler Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent Butler University, located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Bulldogs participate in 20 NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports. After leaving the Horizon League following the 2011–12 seaso ...

College career

Shiltz attended

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communic ...

and was the starting quarterback for the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is a stocky, muscular dog of medium size, with a large head, thick folds of skin around the face and shoulders and a rel ...

for part of

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and all of the

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

season. In his first season he completed 106 of 171 pass attempts (62.0%) for 1,324 yards with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. In his senior season Shiltz attempted 381 passes, of which he completed 218 (57.2%), for 2,713 yards with 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions. In 2015, he also ran the ball for 639 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Professional career

Montreal Alouettes

After going undrafted in the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

Shiltz began working for

Ernst & Young EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

at which time he was invited to 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 disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

' April

mini-camp A mini-camp, also spelled minicamp, is a short camp held by National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) teams usually in spring of each year. The camp usually only lasts 3 days, but the length varies by a day or two depending ...

for the 2017 season. On April 4, 2017 he signed a contract with the Alouettes. On November 4, 2017, in the

final game of the 2017 CFL season, he started his first professional game, completing seven of 16 passes for 96 yards before being replaced in the third quarter. Prior to the final game of the season, Shiltz had played three games in relief for injured Montreal quarterbacks, during which he completed 28 of 45 passes for 289 yards, including one touchdown. In training camp for the 2018 season it was revealed that Shiltz and veteran

Drew Willy Drew Willy (born November 13, 1986) is an American former professional Canadian football quarterback. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Buffalo Bulls football, Buffalo. Willy ...

were in contention for the starting role to open the season. Shiltz only played in two games during the 2018 season, completing 19 of 30 pass attempts for 194 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Shiltz entered the 2019 season as the team's third quarterback, behind

Vernon Adams Vernon Anthony Adams Jr. (born January 3, 1993) is an American professional Canadian football, football quarterback for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Eastern Washington Eagles fo ...

and

Antonio Pipkin Antonio Pipkin (born July 19, 1995) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football at Tiffin. Pipkin has been a member of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL), and the Montreal Alouettes, Edmon ...

. Midway through the season Shiltz and the Alouettes agreed to a one-year contract extension. Shiltz was named the starting quarterback for the Alouettes in their Week 16 match against the

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

after Vernon Adams was suspended for one game. Shiltz completed 10 of 19 pass attempts for 177 yards with a touchdown and an interception: He also ran for 62 yards and a touchdown, but the game was lost on a goal line fumble from

. Following the cancellation of the 2020 season Shiltz re-signed with the Alouettes on December 16, 2020. Late in the team's Week 10 match against the Redblacks starting quarterback Vernon Adams Jr suffered a shoulder injury, thrusting Shiltz into the starting role where he completed all three of his pass attempts for 36 yards setting up the game winning touchdown. The following week Shiltz started in place of Vernon Adams, and played well leading the Alouettes to a 27-16 win over the

. The next day on October 17, 2021, the Alouettes announced that they had traded for veteran quarterback

Trevor Harris Trevor Harris (born May 31, 1986) is an American professional 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. Harris has a ...

, giving Shiltz competition for the position while he remained the team's starter for the next game. Shiltz threw two touchdown passes in a 37-16 win over the Toronto Argonauts. Shiltz ended up being benched for Harris during the following game, and was placed on the injured list, missing the rest of the season. As a pending

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2022, Shiltz was released by the Alouettes on February 4, 2022.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

On February 6, 2022, it was announced that Shiltz had signed a one-year contract with 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 (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

. His salary for the 2022 season was reported at $125,000. In late August 2022, it was announced that Shiltz would miss the next four-to-six weeks recovering from a wrist injury. At the time of the injury, Shiltz had been splitting snaps at quarterback with starter

Dane Evans Stephen Dane Evans (born November 19, 1993) is an American former professional football quarterback who played for six seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and BC Lions. ...

. Shiltz finished the season having played in all but one of the regular season games, completing 85 of 119 pass attempts for 935 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran the ball 28 times for 152 yards with one score. On February 6, 2023, Shiltz and Hamilton agreed to a contract extension. Shiltz began the 2023 season as the backup quarterback to

Bo Levi Mitchell Bo Levi Mitchell (born March 3, 1990)Official Eastern Washingto ...

whom the club acquired in the off-season. He came off the bench in Week 2 and completed 13 of 14 attempts for 115 yards and a touchdown. In late June, Mitchell was placed on the six-game injured reserve list with an adductor injury, which elevated Shiltz to the starting role while Mitchell recovered. He started three games for the Tiger-Cats, leading the team to a 2–1 record, but was injured in the team's week 5 game against the

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division (CFL), West Division and plays their home games at Commonw ...

and subsequently placed on the six-game injured list himself. After sitting for six games, he returned to the active roster, but rookie Taylor Powell continued to start at quarterback for the Tiger-Cats while Shiltz remained the backup. Mitchell also returned from injury and started in the last three games of the season, with Shitlz getting playing time in relief. In total, Schiltz played in 11 regular season games, starting in three, where he completed 108 of 161 pass attempts for 1,556 yards, seven touchdowns, and five interceptions. He also recorded 23 carries for 160 yards and one touchdown. Despite Mitchell being available to play, Shiltz was named the starter for the first time in his career in the 2023 post-season, as head coach

Orlondo Steinauer Orlondo Steinauer (born June 9, 1973) is the president of football operations for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). As a player, he played professional Canadian football as a safety for 13 seasons with the Ottawa Rou ...

named him the starter for the East Semi-Final. He completed 13 of 23 passes for 144 yards and one interception along with four carries for 34 yards in the 27–12 loss to the Alouettes. He became a

upon the expiry of his contract on February 13, 2024.

Calgary Stampeders

On February 13, 2024, it was announced that Shiltz had signed with the

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

. He played in ten games where he completed 34 of 62 pass attempts for 438 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He became a

upon the expiry of his contract on February 11, 2025.

Ottawa Redblacks

On February 11, 2025, Shiltz signed a one-year contract with the

References

External links

Ottawa Redblacks bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shiltz, Matthew Living people 1992 births Canadian football quarterbacks American football quarterbacks Players of Canadian football from Illinois Calgary Stampeders players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Montreal Alouettes players Ottawa Redblacks players Butler Bulldogs football players Ernst & Young people Players of American football from Kane County, Illinois Sportspeople from St. Charles, Illinois