Article content

Don’t expect the Ottawa Redblacks to go out and sign quarterbacks Drew Willy or Mitchell Gale, both released by other Canadian Football League clubs on Saturday.

Also, don’t hold your breath waiting for former National Football League first-rounder Josh Freeman, added to the Redblacks negotiation list in recent days, to play here anytime soon.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Redblacks QB Drew Tate should be ready for opener Back to video

And don’t sweat it about backup QB Drew Tate, who has been in the CFL’s concussion protocol since receiving a helmet-to-helmet hit during a preseason game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on June 8.

Photo by Justin Tang / CP

“Drew’s coming along quite well. I anticipate he’ll be able to dress this week,” Redblacks general manager Marcel Desjardins said Sunday, referring to Friday’s regular-season opener against the Calgary Stampeders. “I think he has one or two steps left in his return-to-play protocol with respect to the concussion. He may not be out there Day 1 of practice, but he’s in meetings and doing everything else. We’re comfortable with where we’re at at the quarterback position.”

On cutdown day, the Redblacks decided to keep Danny Collins ahead of Austin Trainor on the practice squad.

“It was a very small window to be able to evaluate both guys,” Desjardins said. “We had to go based mostly off the game (at Montreal on Thursday night). Danny did a great job. Austin is a guy we like, but we can’t have five quarterbacks around here.”

tbaines@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/TimCBaines