The Ottawa Redblacks have re-signed American defensive back Amari Henderson. He was scheduled to become a free agent in February.
The 27-year-old native of Charlotte, N.C. started the first nine games of the 2025 regular-season at field-side halfback, recording 18 defensive tackles and one interception. He suffered a torn ACL in August, which landed him on the six-game injured list.
The six-foot, 182-pound defender spent the first three seasons of his CFL career with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He played 37 regular-season games with the team, notching 109 defensive tackles, one special teams tackle, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles.
Henderson played collegiately at Wake Forest University where he was named second-team All-Conference in 2019. He had NFL stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent prior coming to the CFL but never dressed for a regular-season game with either team.
The Ottawa Redblacks finished fourth in the East Division standings in 2025 with a 4-14 record, missing the playoffs for the fifth time in the last six seasons. Dru Brown went 2-7 over nine starts at quarterback, throwing for 2,389 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Dustin Crum went 2-4 over six starts, throwing for 1,771 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions.
The Redblacks ranked sixth in net offence, fifth in net defence, and ninth with a turnover differential of minus-16. The club’s leading rusher was William Stanback with 698 yards, leading receiver was Justin Hardy with 1,019 yards, and leading tackler was Adarius Pickett with 84 tackles. Ottawa finished eighth in attendance with average crowds of 18,136, which was a 4.2 percent decrease from the previous year.
