• Jeff Richards | AMER | DB | 6’2 | 200 LBS | 1991-01-03 | Del City, OK | Emporia State

It was a busy week for the Edmonton Elks going into the Labour Day Weekend.  And there will be players such as mainly David Beard and Thomas Costigan that will be missed during the rebuild process as they did have value to the Edmonton Elks.  But that is football for you.  Player transactions are inevitable and will occur at more of a prevalent rate when you have a team that has shown a lot of struggles during the 2022 season. 

EDMONTON ELKS DEPTH CHART

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Unfortunately for the Edmonton offense, the key playmaker injuries could have accumulated at the wrong time.  With LT Tony Washington and WR Manny Arceneaux still on the 6-game injured list, WR Kenny Lawler will be listed as out for the Labour Day Classic as he suffered an ankle injury in Week 13 vs the Ottawa REDBLACKS.  He has also been placed on the 6-game injury list.  For a player that has been the MOP for the Edmonton Elks this season, there is no doubt that the Edmonton offense is going to have to be creative as it can be to have any chance it putting up points on the board with one of the best defenses in the CFL.

With that said, QB Taylor Cornelius will have to be as accurate as he can be in now utilizing veteran SB Derel Walker, utility player Kai Locksley, rookie WR Dillion Mitchell, along with another rookie WR in Vincent Forbes-Mombleau.  Furthermore, Taylor Cornelius will have to experience the daunting task of trying to isolate a defense that leads the CFL with a total of 15 interceptions with Toronto sitting at 2nd place with 14 interceptions.  

To make matters worse, the Edmonton offensive line will have to buy as much time as possible in order for Taylor Cornelius to execute any passes against a stingy Calgary defense that also has a total of 23 quarterback sacks.  They might sit a 6th in the CFL in the sack category, but Edmonton knows all too well how many times pressure was applied to any quarterback playing for the green and gold this season. 

As painful as the 2022 season has been for the fans of the green and gold, there is no game on the calendar year that has a playoff type of environment than the Labour Day Classic.

The only thing any Edmonton Elks fan would want more at this given time would be to upset their main foes in the Calgary Stampeders. The one thing about the Labour Day Classic historically is that no matter how good or bad the teams are at that given time, win on Labour Day, and you have all the bragging rights against your natural historical rivalry.

Lets go El

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