| Team: | Ottawa Rough Riders |
| Year: | 1996 |
| Record: | 3–15 |
| Division Place: | 4th, East |
| Coach: | Jim Gilstrap (fired) John Payne |
| Stadium: | Frank Clair Stadium |
| Playoffs: | did not qualify |
| Uniform: | File:CFL OTT Jersey 1996.png |
| Shortnavlink: | Other seasons |
| Next: | none |
| No Nextseason: | true |
The 1996 Ottawa Rough Riders finished fourth place in the East Division with a 3–15 record and failed to make the playoffs. This was the final season in Ottawa Rough Riders franchise history as they folded after the season ended. Jim Gilstrap was the coach through the second game of the regular season before being fired and replaced with John Payne for the remainder of the season.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 19 | Sammie Brennan | DB | Bishop's | |
| 4 | 28 | Grayson Shillingford | SB | UBC | |
| 5 | 37 | Darcy Curtis | DT/OL | Simon Fraser | |
| 5 | 38 | George Savard | OL | Ottawa | |
| 6 | 45 | Robert McElwain | DB | Windsor | |
| 7 | 54 | Micheal Hendricks | LB | Ottawa |
| Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Venue | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | ||||||
| A | Thu, June 13 | at Montreal Alouettes | L 7–38 | 0–1 | Olympic Stadium | 11,215 | |
| B | Wed, June 19 | vs. Toronto Argonauts | L 6–34 | 0–2 | Frank Clair Stadium | 14,024 |
| Toronto Argonauts | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 556 | 359 | 30 | |
| Montreal Alouettes | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 536 | 467 | 24 | |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 426 | 576 | 16 | |
| 18 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 352 | 524 | 6 |
| Week | Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Venue | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | |||||||
| 1 | 1 | Fri, June 28 | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 23–35 | 0–1 | Ivor Wynne Stadium | 19,149 | |
| 2 | 2 | Wed, July 3 | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 14–29 | 0–2 | Frank Clair Stadium | 10,125 | |
| 3 | 3 | Fri, July 12 | vs. BC Lions | W 32–21 | 1–2 | Frank Clair Stadium | 13,489 | |
| 4 | 4 | Wed, July 17 | at Toronto Argonauts | L 4–34 | 1–3 | SkyDome | 17,288 | |
| 5 | 5 | Thu, July 25 | vs. Edmonton Eskimos | L 18–34 | 1–4 | Frank Clair Stadium | 13,323 | |
| 6 | 6 | Sat, Aug 3 | at Edmonton Eskimos | L 2–30 | 1–5 | Commonwealth Stadium | 25,773 | |
| 7 | 7 | Fri, Aug 9 | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 27–31 | 1–6 | Winnipeg Stadium | 25,219 | |
| 8 | 8 | Thu, Aug 15 | vs. Toronto Argonauts | L 19–42 | 1–7 | Frank Clair Stadium | 15,220 | |
| 9 | 9 | Sat, Aug 24 | at Toronto Argonauts | L 21–28 | 1–8 | SkyDome | 17,182 | |
| 10 | 10 | Fri, Aug 30 | vs. Montreal Alouettes | W 17–6 | 2–8 | Frank Clair Stadium | 28,451 | |
| 11 | Bye | |||||||
| 12 | 11 | Sun, Sept 15 | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | W 18–16 | 3–8 | Taylor Field | 19,567 | |
| 13 | 12 | Sun, Sept 22 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 21–24 | 3–9 | Frank Clair Stadium | 26,813 | |
| 14 | 13 | Fri, Sept 27 | at Calgary Stampeders | L 17–24 | 3–10 | McMahon Stadium | 21,607 | |
| 15 | 14 | Sat, Oct 5 | vs. Calgary Stampeders | L 27–31 | 3–11 | Frank Clair Stadium | 15,025 | |
| 16 | 15 | Mon, Oct 14 | vs. Montreal Alouettes | L 18–25 | 3–12 | Frank Clair Stadium | 14,080 | |
| 17 | 16 | Sat, Oct 19 | at Montreal Alouettes | L 25–39 | 3–13 | Olympic Stadium | 18,671 | |
| 18 | 17 | Sat, Oct 26 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 29–30 | 3–14 | Frank Clair Stadium | 15,095 | |
| 19 | 18 | Sat, Nov 2 | at BC Lions | L 24–35 | 3–15 | BC Place | 18,308 | |