The Ottawa Redblacks' pre-season opener at Percival-Molson Memorial Stadium on Friday will present different opportunities for different players. For 23 veterans, it will be a chance to rest at home and skip the same-day round-trip bus ride to Montreal, which will be interrupted only for a clash with an Alouettes roster that includes many players who participated in last November's Grey Cup loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. For bubble players and those looking to climb the Ottawa depth chart, it will be an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to execute orders with a high level of precision under first-year head coach and general manager Ryan Dinwiddie.
Dinwiddie's Expectations for the Team
“We’ve got to sustain some drives,” Dinwiddie said after Thursday’s walk-through at TD Place, addressing a problem the team faced last season. “One of our main points was to score touchdowns when we get in the red zone. I don’t want to look sloppy. No pre-snap penalties. We’ve got to play PFF, penalty-free football, and I want to see some guys compete. We haven’t been overly physical in practice because we’re trying to take care of each other, but that’s what we want to see on film.”
Giordano Vaccaro's Professional Debut
As the first overall pick in last month’s Canadian Football League draft, offensive lineman Giordano Vaccaro does not need to worry about mistakes that might lead to being cut. But for him, the game will be anything but a meaningless exhibition. It will be a special occasion. Why will May 22, 2026, likely be a day Vaccaro remembers for the rest of his life? Because he will be making his professional debut as the Redblacks’ starting left guard. Vaccaro might even leave the stadium with a souvenir keepsake.
“For sure, it will be in the back of my mind,” the 6-foot-2, 306-pound former University of Manitoba Bison and Purdue Boilermaker said with a grin. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget my first game in the pros, just like I wouldn’t forget my first game at Manitoba. It’ll be locked in the back of my mind for sure. My first CFL game … There are no other words other than I’m excited and pumped to just be in the pros right now and play and have the opportunity to keep playing football.”
Physical Brand of Football
The final score in pre-season games should not matter to anybody, but it always does to the players on the field. It always counts for true competitors. “I go into this opportunity with an open mind and just want to play my best brand of football, and that’s physical,” Vaccaro said. “I’m going to go in there, do my job, and hopefully the team wins. That’s what’s going to happen. We’re going to win. This exhibition is huge. It gets filmed, everyone is going to have this film, and we’re going to go out there and show every team what we talked about today. We’re going to be a physical team, and we’re gonna put it on film.”
The Redblacks are set to face the Montreal Alouettes on Friday night, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be a key test for the team's new direction under Dinwiddie, who is making his sideline debut as head coach and general manager. Fans can expect to see a mix of established players and newcomers vying for roster spots, all aiming to set a physical tone for the upcoming season.
