TRANSACTIONS

ACQUIRED BY EDMONTON

• Kurleigh Gittens Jr. (WR)
• 2024 Seventh-Round Draft Pick

TRADED TO TORONTO

• Jake Ceresna (DL)
• Negotiation List rights to Khalan Laborn (RB)

A blockbuster trade occurred yesterday between the Edmonton Elks and the Toronto Argonauts.

Defensive lineman and favorite in Edmonton Jake Cersesna will head east to the beautiful city of Toronto, while Canadian receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. heads out west to join his newly acquired team, the Edmonton Elks.  Also in the exchange between the two clubs are the rights to American running back Khalan Laborn to Toronto, while Edmonton receives a seventh-round pick in the 2024 CFL Draft.

Jake Ceresna enters the 2024 CFL season already under his current contract where he will earn $212,000. He will become a free agent in February 2025.     

The Toronto Argonauts get one of the best defensive linemen in the CFL.  The New Fairfield, Connecticut native first arrived in the CFL in 2017 as a member of the Ottawa REDBLACKS.  However, his stay in the nation’s capital was short-lived in which he was then traded to the Edmonton Elks in 2018. 

It was in Edmonton, Alberta where Jake Ceresna’s talent was on full display.  In 61 games played with the Green and Gold, Jake Ceresna contributed to the Elks’ defense with 163 tackles, along with 37 sacks.

When one big asset departs, another is received.  The Edmonton Elks claim Kurleigh Gitttens Jr. in return.

With recently obtaining veteran and journeyman quarterback McLoud Bethel-Thompson to bolster the position, the Elks obtained a receiver who is very familiar with McLoud Bethel-Thompson.  The Canadian receiver who was nursing a hip injury in 2023, was reduced to only playing 10 games last season.  He made the most of his opportunities in contributing to the Argonauts’ offense with 35 receptions, 416 receiving yards, and a lone touchdown. 

Since joining the Boatmen in 2019 via the CFL Draft out of Sir Wilfred Laurier University, Kurleigh Gitttens Jr. has a total of 167 receptions, for 2,132 receiving yards, with 10 touchdowns.

Kurleigh Gitttens Jr. is also entering his second year of a three-year extension that was signed in 2023 where he is set to earn $210,000 for the 2024 CFL season.  On February 1st, 2024, Kurleigh Gitttens Jr. has a roster bonus coming his way for a total of $55,000.

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