The Ottawa Redblacks may have been the only team to get rid of a key contributor ahead of the CFL trade deadline, but general manager Shawn Burke drew the line at a complete firesale.
“You’re always working the phones through the season and whatnot. There probably was some opportunities if I wanted to engage in conversations some more, but the reality is, we win four games, we have a shot at being in the playoffs,” Burke told TSN 1200 when asked if there were more trades considered.
“I wanted to give these guys the opportunity to finish that way. There’s lots of guys here that put trust in me for putting the best product on the field each week, and, more importantly, the organization and the fan base. I feel we still have the ability to do that, and felt it was best to stand pat and have this lineup take on Saskatchewan on Friday.”
While he felt that keeping the majority of his roster intact was important, Burke did complete the only pre-deadline deal in the league on Sunday. The Redblacks sent veteran defensive end Lorenzo Mauldin IV to the Calgary Stampeders in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2026 CFL Draft.
Though the 33-year-old had just 26 defensive tackles and two quarterback sacks this season, and was considered a poor fit for the defensive scheme, the trade still meant moving on from a player that Burke had spent seven seasons with dating back to his time in Hamilton. He personally informed the former Most Outstanding Defensive Player via FaceTime after the move was made.
“An emotional call, but he handled it like a pro. I’m paid to do a job here, and you’ve got to make the decisions while you’re in the seat that you think best helps the organization. And I felt, at this point, it did,” Burke said, noting that the decision was especially difficult due to his close relationship to Mauldin and his family.
“This business doesn’t work unless you invest yourself personally into people. And that’s always going to be a tough part of it.”
With the Redblacks sitting one loss away from official playoff elimination, many interpreted the trade as a notice of surrender for the ninth-place franchise. Burke didn’t intend it that way, and simply felt the value offered in return for Mauldin as a rental was too great to refuse.
“As a general manager, you always have to evaluate where your team’s at. We’re going out to win the next four games. That’s our mindset. Until we can’t, that’s our plan. It’s about going 1-0 this week, but at the same time, you get opportunities to look at your club at a bigger picture level,” he explained.
“I just felt it was going to give the opportunity for us to take a look at some guys here. Aidan John, every time he’s been given an opportunity to play, has produced. Chase McGowan is obviously a guy we’ve kept around all year and want to take a look at. And secondly, I just felt we could replenish a bit by getting that fourth-round pick. We lost a fifth-rounder, that’s a conditional one, in the Daniel Adeboboye trade, and then a seventh-rounder. I felt it was good value for a guy that’s in the last year of his contract with four games left in the season, and it felt we had some personnel here that could help us make the trade.”
Burke added that the team’s last fourth-round pick, defensive tackle Muftah Ageli, is currently playing impactful minutes as a rookie, and emphasized the importance of draft capital going forward. As a result, he believes the singular move struck the right balance between present and future success.
Even without Mauldin, he believes his team will fight for their playoff lives to the very end.
“These guys are prideful guys. I look at the film on the field, and I never critique them for their effort levels,” Burke insisted. “Execution needs to be better, we’ve got to be better in big moments, but I’m excited to see our club take on Saskatchewan.”
The Ottawa Redblacks (4-10) will host the Saskatchewan Roughriders (10-4) at TD Place Stadium on Friday, October 3 with kickoff slated for 7:30 p.m. EDT. The Riders are coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Edmonton Elks, while the Redblacks were on a bye.
The weather forecast in Ottawa calls for a high of 21 degrees with a mix of sun and cloud. The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on 620 CKRM in Regina and TSN 1200 in Ottawa.
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.
