The Hamilton Tiger-Cats continue to shuffle players in and out of their quarterback room. They recently released N’Kosi Perry, which they signed to stand in as a third-string quarterback when they moved starting quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell to the Six-Game Injured List.

By releasing Perry, Hamilton opened the door to speculation about their next quarterback move to ensure that they had three quarterbacks available. The Tiger-Cat’s next move was to sign former Elks backup quarterback Kai Locksley.

Locksley has spent two seasons with the Edmonton Elks getting playing time at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver. At quarterback, he threw eight passes for five completions and 50 yards, had 55 rushing attempts for 122 yards and seven touchdowns, and caught 17 passes for 247 yards.

The Edmonton Elks released Locksley after playing one snap against the Toronto Argonauts in Week 3 this season. He fumbled after the snap on that play, and Toronto recovered the ball. Later when Edmonton asked for him to take the field as part of a short yardage package, he refused, and after the game, the Elks released the Locksley.

By signing Locksley, the Tiger-Cats get a raw multi-threat athlete with experience in short-yardage situations. Before joining the CFL, he was a journeyman at the college level, and outside of playing limited time with the Elks, he will need some time to develop into a more effective quarterback. If Hamilton can find the best-fit role for Locksley, he could be a valuable asset for the Hamilton offence. He could also be like N’Kosi Perry and temporarily fill a roster spot until Bo Levi Mitchell is healthy again.

Locksley Before Edmonton

Kai Locksley is a 6’4″, 210-pound athlete from Fort Washington, Maryland. He spent time in 2021 with the Miami Dolphins on their practice squad before signing with the Elks in 2022. Locksley’s college career started at the University of Texas, where he was red-shirted and moved to wide receiver. He then left Texas at went to Arizona Western College for one semester, agreed to transfer to Marshall, but then transferred to Iowa Western Community College.

At Iowa Western, he played for one season and had 176 completions on 265 pass attempts for 2,231 yards, 20 passing touchdowns, and six interceptions. He also carried the ball 205 times and scored 20 rushing touchdowns.

The quarterback then transferred to the University of Texas-El Paso. In his first year with the Miners, he started eight games and had 937 passing yards with three touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also ran for 340 yards and had six rushing touchdowns. During his senior year, he played in 11 games and had 1,329 passing yards with six touchdowns and five interceptions. He also ran for 535 yards and five touchdowns.

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