Making his first appearance in a RedBlacks uniform in a year, Jeremiah Masoli was beginning to find his groove vs. the Hamilton Tiger Cats on Saturday.
But as fate would have it, his comeback would be short lived, as the veteran QB would suffer a non-contact injury to his left leg midway through the contest. The 34 year old would return to the sidelines with crutches and a walking boot late in the game, but from the outset things looked grim. Simply put, Ottawa is a team that cannot catch a break.
“Sometimes Mr. Spock, things go so badly, you just have to laugh” Pike once said on Star Trek. Unfortunately, the recurring theme of losing starting quarterbacks is a punchline that RedBlacks fans have heard one to many times.
Already this season Ottawa has filtered through Nick Arbuckle (benched), Tyrie Adams (ACL tear), Jeremiah Masoli (leg), and Dustin Crum. That’s 4 QBs in 4 games for a RedBlacks franchise that’s been desperately seeking continuity at the position since Trevor Harris’ departure in 2018.
Since then, Ottawa has gone a combined 11-43, and until their Week 3 victory over the Elks, were riding one of the longest home losing streaks in recent memory. The RedBlacks have seen starts from Caleb Evans (13), Dominique Davis (11), Nick Arbuckle (10), Jonathon Jennings (6), Masoli (5), Matt Nichols (4), William Arndt (3), Devlin Hodges (1), and Adams (1) during that time. A statistic made even more eye popping when one remembers that the 2020 season was cancelled due to the pandemic.
At this point, it’s essentially been a “baptism by fire” for newly appointed Offensive Coordinator Khari Jones, as he’s had to rework the playbook on a game to game basis. In fact, in half those games he’s had to modify the playbook midgame due to injuries.
In the past, fans have openly griped about the team’s over reliance on the leg of Lewis Ward, often settling for field goals when the game flow begged for the offense to stay on the field. And rightly so.
However, 2023 has been a turnstile at the signal caller position for Ottawa. When you have the steadying presence of a Zach Collaros or Chad Kelly under centre week in, week out, you can begin to get creative with your offensive play calling. When you’re unsure who’s taking the snap on a game to game basis, suddenly you’re just hoping to avoid punting every 3rd play.
Which is what makes the latest Masoli injury so disheartening for the players and fans alike in the nation’s capital. The club was fresh off a win, and largely controlling the game vs. the Ti-Cats until the former Holiday Bowl MVP collapsed to the turf. That would have put them at 2-2, and tied for 2nd place in the East behind Toronto. A position RedBlacks fans haven’t seen since prior to COVID.
But more important than the wins or losses is the human element to the game, which was on full display over the weekend. Players from around the league took to social media to express the pain they felt for Masoli, after having watched him work so hard to return to the field.
“I’m hurting for Masoli,” said Crum after the game. “He worked so hard to get back out there and to have a heartbreaking injury like that … it sucks.”
The injury means it’s back to the drawing board for the RedBlacks coaching staff. Masoli’s return was supposed to finally settle a largely chaotic position for the club. Instead, they’re likely reviewing game tape of current free agents to help shore up the position for the immediate future.
“I think the league’s better with Jeremiah in it,” said Ti-Cats coach Orlondo Steinauer after the game. A sentiment that’s largely shared in locker rooms across the league.
Crum has been tapped to start the team’s next game, but the club had been tight lipped on the extent of their starting QB’s injury up to this point. Unfortunately, that silence was broken Monday afternoon after the team announced that the veteran QB suffered a torn achilles tendon and will require surgery. The procedure will take place in Ottawa, and effectively ends Masoli’s season. Ottawa hasn’t announced any corresponding roster moves as of yet.
With more questions than answers at this point, the RedBlacks will look to regroup on Tuesday as they begin practice for their Week 6 showdown against Winnipeg.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Jfvoll. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.