The Ottawa Redblacks\u2019 decision to deal veteran defensive lineman Lorenzo Mauldin IV is indeed perplexing.<\/p>\n
Ottawa sent Mauldin — the CFL\u2019s top defensive player in 2022 — to the Calgary Stampeders on Sunday for a \u201926 fourth-round pick. The deal certainly addressed a big need for the Stamps, who had lost veteran defensive lineman Folarin Orimolade to a season-ending Achilles injury.<\/p>\n
Calgary (8-6) is currently tied for second in the West Division with B.C. and Winnipeg (both 8-7). The Stampeders visit the Lions on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Ottawa made the move before the CFL trade deadline (3:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday), but the timing is certainly interesting. The Redblacks (4-10) are fourth in the East Division and have lost two straight, but still mathematically remain in playoff contention.<\/p>\n
The Redblacks certainly don\u2019t control their playoff destiny. Not only must they win their final four regular-season games, they need second-place Montreal (8-7) to lose out to reach the CFL post-season.<\/p>\n
Ottawa returns from a bye week to host the Saskatchewan Roughriders (10-4) on Friday night. That\u2019s certainly a tall order considering the Riders are 5-1 versus East Division teams, but they\u2019ve also lost two straight games.<\/p>\n
However, if the Redblacks can add to Saskatchewan\u2019s struggles, they\u2019d have a home-and-home series with Montreal on Oct. 13 and Oct. 18 before finishing their regular season in Hamilton on Oct. 24.<\/p>\n
Again, it\u2019s certainly not an easy road to hoe and, yes, much must happen for Ottawa to reach the CFL post-season. But as of today, at least, there\u2019s a potential playoff path for the Redblacks.<\/p>\n
So why, then, trade a decorated veteran — Mauldin was a CFL all-star in 2022 and \u201924 — for a commodity that might help the Redblacks in 2026? And why dispatch one of your best defensive linemen against the run when your next game is against a team that likes to pound the football with running back A.J. Ouellette (second overall in rushing with 1,057 yards, league-high 204 carries)?<\/p>\n
The optics of the trade aren\u2019t good.<\/p>\n
The move can be interpreted as a sign Ottawa has given up on its \u201925 season and is looking ahead to next year. And judging by the reaction to the deal on social media Sunday and Monday, it\u2019s a conclusion many Redblacks fans have reached.<\/p>\n
Mauldin has accumulated 163 defensive tackles (17 for loss), 36 sacks, six forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, six knockdowns and 12 special-teams tackles over 90 CFL games with Ottawa (2022-24) and Hamilton (2019, \u201921).<\/p>\n
And he\u2019s been very durable, having appeared in 67 of 68 games since signing with Ottawa. This year, Mauldin has 26 tackles (two for loss), two sacks and three knockdowns in 14 regular-season contests.<\/p>\n
Mauldin began his pro career with the New York Jets after being selected in the third round of the \u201915 NFL draft. He had 33 tackles, 6.5 sacks and one interception with the club (2015-17).<\/p>\n
Trading Mauldin certainly doesn\u2019t help either head coach Bob Dyce or first-year defensive co-ordinator William Fields heading into weekend action. But at least Dyce is under contract to the CFL club through 2026.<\/p>\n
There\u2019ve been suggestions Ottawa dealt Mauldin because he\u2019s in the final year of his CFL contract and the club might not be able to re-sign him for 2026. Therefore, it opted to get something for him now rather than get nothing if he left in free agency.<\/p>\n
But truthfully, that\u2019s an off-season issue and not a \u201925 problem for a team still in playoff contention. Granted, if Ottawa was eliminated from post-season consideration this weekend, then no deal involving Mauldin could be made with the trade deadline having passed.<\/p>\n
However, Ottawa could\u2019ve tried dealing Mauldin\u2019s rights in the off-season ahead of free agency. Even if the Redblacks would\u2019ve secured a \u201926 pick later than the fourth round, truthfully speaking, U Sports players selected in the fourth round or later usually must prove themselves on special teams before garnering opportunities for more playing time.<\/p>\n
Their impact, at least initially, is usually very limited. Certainly much less than a starting defensive player who\u2019s earned two league all-star nods and the CFL\u2019s top defensive player award.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2025.<\/p>\n
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Ottawa Redblacks\u2019 decision to deal veteran defensive lineman Lorenzo Mauldin IV is indeed perplexing. Ottawa sent Mauldin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":180477,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-180476","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}