Henry Burris signs with Ottawa Redblacks

Veteran CFL quarterback Henry Burris — a 38-year-old from Oklahoma who has played for 15 seasons — has signed with the Ottawa Redblacks.

Burris led the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to last season's Grey Cup, where Hamilton fell 45-23 to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

He led the league with 4,925 passing yards in 2013 to go along with 24 touchdowns and 19 interceptions.

His signing comes as a surprise, given that Ottawa had already selected former Calgary Stampeder Kevin Glenn as the first selection of the CFL expansion draft.

Glenn, 34, split time under centre with the Stampeders last season, finishing with 2,710 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The Redblacks also have quarterbacks Thomas DeMarco and Matt Faulkner.

At Tuesday's morning's news conference announcing the signing, Burris told reporters he has "a lot left in the tank" but acknowledged it would be his last contract.

The Redblacks aren't releasing financial details of Burris's contract, but said at the news conference it was a three-year deal.

As a free agent, Burris said he had a choice between Ottawa and Winnipeg, and that he chose Ottawa to be closer to family.

Redblacks coach Rick Campbell said Burris was signed to be the starting quarterback, and that the potential for competition with Glenn and the other quarterbacks would be good for the team.

"Every position is always up for grabs," said Campbell. "We have three guys we know can win in this position in this league. Competition just makes us better."

Burris comes to Ottawa after he was released by the Tiger-Cats last week. He has also played for Calgary and Saskatchewan.