OTTAWA — You can put off the Henry Burris farewell tour, at least for 2016.
According to a report by the Ottawa Sun‘s Tim Baines, Burris has agreed to a restructured contract with the Ottawa REDBLACKS and will return in 2017.
The 40-year-old quarterback first told reporters of the news this morning as the REDBLACKS opened training camp along with all eight other CFL teams:
Huge news out of #Ottawa #RedBlacks camp. QB Henry #Burris just told @martincomtois and myself that he will be back for 2017 season. #CFL
— Tim Baines (@TimCBaines) May 29, 2016
Baines later tweeted that Burris agreed to take a paycut to stay in Ottawa: “We wouldn’t have been able to make it work financially if not for concessions on his part,” GM Marcel Desjardins told Baines.
Burris, entering his 19th professional season and third as the starting quarterback of the Ottawa REDBLACKS, is coming off a storybook season in which he won Most Outstanding Player and guided the second-year REDBLACKS to an East Division title and an appearance in the 103rd Grey Cup Championship.
While playing in 18 games for the eighth straight season, Burris eclipsed a career high with 5,703 passing yards (the most in the CFL) while throwing 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He compiled a quarterback rating of 101.0, the sixth time in his career over the century mark, while completing 70.9 per cent of his passes.
The REDBLACKS made a move for stability at quarterback both now and in the future by acquiring 29-year-old Trevor Harris as a free agent this off-season. Last year Harris was CFL leader in touchdown passes and appears to be Ottawa’s contingency plan at quarterback after signing a two-year contract.
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But going into this week’s training camp, Head Coach Rick Campbell made clear that Burris is the starting quarterback and both quarterbacks are aware of the situation.
Burris, a Temple graduate, played for Calgary, Saskatchewan and Hamilton before joining the expansion REDBLACKS in 2014. After sputtering to a two-win season and throwing more interceptions (14) than touchdowns (11) that year, Burris bounced back with a season for the ages in 2015.
A native of Spiro, Okla., Burris entered the CFL in 1998 as a Calgary Stampeder and became a full-time starter in 2000 with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
