The Ottawa Redblacks have signed American receiver Easop Winston Jr. and American defensive back Shakur Brown to the practice roster.
Winston Jr. went unselected in the 2020 NFL Draft before stints with the Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints, Cleveland Browns, Seattle Seahawks, and New York Jets. The 28-year-old played three regular-season games with the Saints in 2021 and recorded one catch for five yards and returned 10 kicks for 119 yards. In 2023, he played one game with the Seahawks but didn’t register any statistics.
The five-foot-eleven, 190-pound native of San Francisco, Calif. started his collegiate career at the City College of San Francisco before transferring to Washington State University in 2017. Over three years with the Cougars, he made 137 catches for 1,624 yards and 19 touchdowns over 26 games.
Brown attended training camp with the Redblacks earlier this year, recording three pass knockdowns during the preseason. He was a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2024, though he didn’t dress for any regular-season games with the team.
The five-foot-eleven, 190-pound native of Stockbridge, Ga. signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers after going unselected in the 2021 NFL Draft and subsequently spent time with the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, and Tennessee Titans. He never dressed for a regular season NFL game.
The five-foot-ten, 190-pound defender played nine games for the XFL’s Arlington Renegades in 2023, recording 34 total tackles and one interception.
Brown made 54 total tackles, two tackles for loss, seven interceptions, 16 pass knockdowns, and two sacks over 26 collegiate games at Michigan State University.
The Ottawa Redblacks (1-4) will visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-2) at Hamilton Stadium on Saturday, July 12 with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT. Ottawa suffered a 39-33 loss to the Edmonton Elks last week, while Hamilton is coming off a 51-38 win over the Toronto Argonauts.
The weather forecast calls for a high of 29 degrees with a 40 percent chance of showers. The game will be broadcast on TSN, RDS, and CTV in Canada and on CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on TSN 1200 in Ottawa and the Ticats Audio Network in Hamilton.
