{"id":851624,"date":"2026-08-09T09:02:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T09:02:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/851624\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T09:02:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T09:02:57","slug":"new-b-c-tackle-martez-ivey-details-mutual-departure-from-redblacks-shock-release-by-elks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/851624\/","title":{"rendered":"New B.C. tackle Martez Ivey details ‘mutual’ departure from Redblacks, ‘shock’ release by Elks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Martez\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Gord Weber\/3DownNation. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

When Martez Ivey picks a side, he sticks to it. Unfortunately, that\u2019s meant that when he picks a team, they haven\u2019t always stuck with him.<\/p>\n

After signing with the B.C. Lions this week<\/a>, the 31-year-old offensive lineman can claim to have been under contract with a third of the CFL\u2019s member franchises in the last calendar year alone. Released by the Edmonton Elks after an offseason spending spree<\/a> in February, he began this season as the starting right tackle for the Ottawa Redbacks.<\/p>\n

After two games, both the player and franchise determined that wasn\u2019t a good fit, and Ivey became a free agent for the second time in five months<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think it was more of a mutual thing. It was me wanting to go back and get back to my natural side of left. My whole career, you look at it, you track it from high school to pros, I\u2019ve been a left tackle,\u201d Ivey told 3DownNation this week. \u201cI played right tackle for (Ryan) Dinwiddie in my first year (in the CFL), and I did a good job, so he kind of trusted me to go and play right tackle and do it well. But it\u2019s the pros, and so I\u2019d only focused on what I was playing \u2014 I\u2019ve been playing left my whole pro life. It is what it is, and I\u2019ll just move on from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Redblacks had signed Ivey in an attempt to upgrade their beleaguered offensive line with an experienced veteran, but had no interest in displacing Dino Boyd as Jake Maier\u2019s blindside protector. Trapped on his non-dominant side, the former West Division all-star allowed seven total pressures and surrendered two sacks in a pair of appearances, according to ProFootballFocus.<\/p>\n

Because Ivey had briefly played under head coach and general manager Ryan Dinwiddie with the Toronto Argonauts in 2021, the two were able to speak frankly about the disconnect and left things on good terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we both felt the same way. I was like, you know what, I\u2019m not bettering nobody by me playing right. I know what I can do on the left, and so that\u2019s how I felt,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m definitely a better left player than a right player without a doubt. I think that\u2019s what it came down to. We had the exit meetings, and it was like, \u2018Hey, we know you want to play left, and I think we\u2019re gonna just release you, give you a shot to go play left somewhere, and you\u2019ll be a starter somewhere else.\u201d I was like, \u2018You know what? I think we both can agree on that.\u2019 We went our separate ways, and left on a good foot that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ivey takes no satisfaction in the struggles of his former team, which dropped to 0-8 on Friday night with a 42-20 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He\u2019s surprised by Ottawa\u2019s record and feels for those still in the building.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good group of guys in there. They work hard. They come in, and they watch the film. They do the extra work,\u201d he said. \u201cUnfortunate stuff happens, but like they said when I was there, you\u2019re just one play away. They\u2019ll figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Apopka, Fla., native\u2019s other former club has had a much different experience in 2026, as the Elks have rocketed to the top of the West Division with a 6-2 start to the season. Though he won\u2019t say it outright, Ivey\u2019s demeanour betrays the fact that that involuntary departure wounded him more deeply, understandably so given the time he\u2019d spent in Green and Gold.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved being in Edmonton. I\u2019d been there for four years and got a bunch of good friends there and stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a shock, but I didn\u2019t let it keep me down. It\u2019s just the game. Everybody\u2019s got their guys and can\u2019t be mad at them for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ivey appeared to be a cornerstone piece for the Elks after his all-star campaign in 2024, establishing himself as an elite run blocker and a high-level blindside protector. PFF credited him with just 28 pressures allowed that year and no sacks surrendered, resulting in an overall grade of 75.9.<\/p>\n

Major organizational changes ensued that offseason, and Ivey survived the initial locker room purge by incoming general manager Ed Hervey<\/a>. However, his play fell off significantly, as he allowed 46 pressures and nine sacks in 2025. Though there was another year remaining on his contract, the writing was on the wall once the Elks went out and acquired a pair of American tackles<\/a>, Brendan Bordner and Jordan Murray, both of whom had played under Hervey with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.<\/p>\n

Ivey was formally released a few days after those signings became official<\/a>. Notably, Edmonton\u2019s outspoken GM did not deliver the news personally to the veteran, choosing to have an assistant do it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t talk to Ed when it happened. I never had a conversation with Ed about the whole thing, and I don\u2019t blame him for that,\u201d Ivey said. \u201cI think it was just that I\u2019d been there for so long, and he came from Hamilton. I think he just wanted his guys in the building, and I can\u2019t blame him for that. When new coaching staffs come in, they bring their guys in. They don\u2019t keep the old coaching staff. He had those guys before in Hamilton, and he trusts them; he knows them. That was his decision to move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The six-foot-six, 335-pound blocker has taken all the recent changes in stride and is excited to have found a new team in Vancouver.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s adversity. I think everybody\u2019s faced adversity in their life, and it\u2019s just a matter of how you deal with it,\u201d Ivey said. \u201cDealing with it the right way, and biting some bullets here and there, and just moving on, having the right mindset. That\u2019s all. It\u2019s just unfortunate circumstances, and don\u2019t let that be the end for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ironically, it was the release of right tackle Dejon Allen<\/a> and the subsequent injury to his replacement Josh Donovan that created Ivey\u2019s opportunity in B.C. For now, he\u2019ll get up to speed on the practice roster and won\u2019t dress in Week 10<\/a>, but could be the next man up in the event of another injury or if inexperienced starter Tyran Walker-Hunt falters.<\/p>\n

Left tackle Kory Woodruff is banged up, but the Lions have also opted to start four Americans up front for much of this season, which means that Ivey could be asked to slot in anywhere besides centre. He\u2019s willing to show a bit more flexibility in his new uniform, though he won\u2019t deny that he still has a preference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played a little bit of guard back in the day in college. If they ask me to do it, I\u2019ll do it,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to say I\u2019m just exclusively a tackle, but if I had to pick, it would be only tackle. But I\u2019ll hop in and play guard, whatever you need. That\u2019s what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The B.C. Lions (2-5) host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-5) on Saturday, August 8, with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The Lions beat Winnipeg 35-19 at Princess Auto Stadium last week, while the Ticats lost 44-20 at home to the Calgary Stampeders.<\/p>\n

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 730 CKNW (English) or Sher-E-Punjab Radio AM 600 (Punjabi) in Vancouver or the Ticats Audio Network in Hamilton.<\/p>\n

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J.C. Abbott is a University of British Columbia graduate and high school football coach. He covers the CFL, B.C. Lions, CFL Draft and the three-down league’s Global initiative.<\/p>\n

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