The 75th season of professional football in Edmonton begins with a preseason game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Here is what you need to know before the game.
One of the significant off-season acquisitions will debut with the Green and Gold.
The last time quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson appeared in a Canadian Football League game was in the 2022 Grey Cup in Regina, playing with the Toronto Argonauts. Bethel-Thompson went 15 for 28 for 203 yards passing before being relieved in the fourth quarter for the then-rookie Chad Kelly, who led the Argonauts to the eventual championship game-winning drive.
Gittens Jr. returns to the field
McLeod Bethel-Thompson isn’t the only marquee signing the Elks made in the off-season, and it’s a familiar face for the Elks’ starting quarterback.
Wide receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. returns to the field for the first time since his season-ending injury as a member of the Toronto Argonauts back on September 9 of last year.
The Elks acquired Gittens on January 15. Initially drafted in the third round of the 2019 CFL Draft, the former Laurier Golden Hawk’s best season came in the 2022 season, where he tallied 81 catches for 1,101 receiving yards and five touchdowns with Bethel-Thompson as the central pivot in Toronto.
The top pick of this year’s CFL Draft will debut against the Roughriders this Saturday afternoon.
Joel Dublanko will don the Green and Gold jersey for the first time in live game action, but he is no stranger to competing for a roster spot on a professional football team. Dublanko last competed professionally with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks training camp roster in 2022.
Dublanko will play the primary backup role behind Reynard Ellis at the middle linebacker position.
