This past Saturday, the Edmonton Elks fell to 0-8 for the season after getting shut out for the second time by the B.C. Lions 27-0. The Elks went into the record books for the wrong reasons losing 21 straight home games which set a new record in North American sports history.
Edmonton quarterback Taylor Cornelius completed (53.3%) for 187 yards, two interceptions, and five carries for 22 yards in the game. This year, Cornelius has completed 101 of 173 passes (58.4%) for 1,250 yards, four touchdowns, nine interceptions, 29 carries for 201 yards, and one touchdown in eight games.
Cornelius has had some terrible games and was benched twice this season. Head Coach Chris Jones has put in Jarret Doege, who completed 42 of 65 passes (64.6%) for 587 yards, four touchdowns, four interceptions, and seven carries for nine yards in six games.
One quarterback who has yet to see the field this year is former first-round pick Tre Ford. The Elks drafted him in the first round (8th pick) in the 2022 CFL Draft. Tre Ford is six foot one and weighs 185 pounds.
In his rookie season, Ford seemed to have given the Elks fans some hope for the future completing 40 of 69 passes (58%) for 461 yards, two touchdowns, five interceptions, and three carries for 19 yards in ten games, of which three were starts before a shoulder injury sidelined him and later returned as Cornelius’s backup.
Head Coach Chris Jones has said that Ford has not earned an opportunity to start at quarterback but given how the season is lost, Jones should consider starting Ford. After all, Edmonton needs to see what they have in Ford or else there is no sense in keeping him when other CFL teams are looking for quarterbacks and could explore the possibility of trading for Ford.
In addition, the Elks fans want to see him play. In dark times like these, Edmonton needs to give the fans a glimmer of hope for the future. The actions of this organization right now is bleak with no sense of direction from the Board of Governors and the coaching staff.
On Monday, the Elks promoted Jarious Jackson to offensive coordinator in hopes of sparking the offense which ranks last in several categories in the CFL. During the press conference, Jackson said that either Ford or Doege would be the new starting quarterback for Edmonton. Jackson is a four-time Grey Cup champion winning three as a player and one as a coach. Changing the playbook for Ford could be a good thing given how this season has gone for the Elks.
Collegiately, Ford played four seasons at the University of Waterloo (2017-19, 2021) completing 597 of 863 passes (69.2%) for 8,003 yards, 64 touchdowns, 22 interceptions, 310 carries for 2,816 yards, 19 touchdowns, seven punts for 366 yards, with a long of 81 yards, three from inside the 20-yard line, four from 50-plus yards, and four punt returns for 49 yards in 33 games for the Warriors.
He earned the Peter Gorman Trophy in 2017, Hec Crighton Trophy in 2021, Lois and Doug Mitchell Award in 2022, and was named First Team All-Canadian in 2021 and Second Team All-Canadian in 2019.
The Elks are currently on a bye week and will return to action on Thursday, August 10th, against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
