Photo courtesy: Patrick Doyle/CFL.
Ottawa Redblacks’ general manager and head coach Ryan Dinwiddie explained why the team released veteran American receiver Eugene Lewis.
“It’s tough. I appreciate Geno, I think he’s a great person, great character, he wasn’t a problem in the locker room. Some of the mental mistakes we gotta clean up. It wasn’t a fit. He’s had a great career, I’m sure someone will pick him up and he will play good football for them,” Dinwiddie told TSN 1200 play-by-play man AJ Jakubec.
The 33-year-old Lewis played six regular season games in 2026 with the Redblacks. He recorded 20 receptions for 231 yards. In Ottawa’s 34-13 Week 9 loss to the Montreal Alouettes, he posted four catches for 35 yards and appeared to be visibly upset on the home team’s bench.
“He never went at me on the sidelines, but I know he had some things to say, I heard from other people. He wants the ball, well we threw him a go ball and they stomped on it. It’s pretty easy to say you want the ball, but we gotta make sure we can throw it to you,” Dinwiddie said.
“For those asking, I didn’t ask for this, I’ll always thug it out. But in this industry, most organizations see business more important than relationships. They always gone tell you it’s just business. My parents taught me it’s not what you do, but how you do it. Part of the game 100,” Lewis wrote on X.
Lewis joined the Redblacks as a free agent in February 2025. In his first campaign last year, he registered 75 receptions for 1,012 yards with six touchdowns. He was named an East Division all-star after recording his fourth career 1,000-yard campaign, which earned him a contract extension through 2027.
The six-foot, 200-pound target was slated to earn $205,000 in hard money in 2026. Because Ottawa released Lewis prior to the team’s ninth regular-season game, the Redblacks do not have to pay any remaining salary. However, he does have $15,000 in guaranteed money owing for 2027, which will count against the salary cap that year.
Lewis came to the CFL in 2017 with the Montreal Alouettes and played five seasons in Quebec prior to spending time with the Edmonton Elks and Ottawa. In 122 three-down league games, the Wilkes-Barre, Penn. native has caught 493 passes for 7,504 yards with 47 touchdowns — making him the league’s active receiving yardage leader. He was named the East Division’s Most Outstanding Player in 2022 and has been named All-CFL three times (2021, 2022, 2024), while earning divisional All-CFL honours on five occasions (2019-2022, 2024, 2025).
