Photo courtesy: Paul Yates/B.C. Lions
Edmonton Elks’ head coach Mark Kilam appeared to give a direct answer when asked if Canadian quarterback Tre Ford has a future with the Green and Gold.
“He still has a future in the CFL, for sure,” Kilam said. “We said when we made the change that it wasn’t the end of him. That kind of question, we’re not really focusing on that right now. We’re focusing on winning a football game against a really good opponent in B.C.”
The 27-year-old Ford was benched after a loss against the Lions in Week 6. He completed 4-of-12 passes for 34 yards with no touchdowns and one interception while rushing four times for 47 yards in a 32-14 loss at Commonwealth Stadium. Fellow national QB Nathan Rourke led B.C. to the win by completing 26-of-30 passes for 345 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
That defeat dropped Edmonton to 1-4 and led to Cody Fajardo being named the starting quarterback coming out of the team’s Week 7 bye. The 2023 Grey Cup MVP has led the Elks to a 6-5 record with four losses by four points or less. The 33-year-old has completed a CFL-best 75 percent of his passes for 2,906 yards with 12 touchdowns versus three interceptions. He’s rushed 49 times for 257 yards and six majors.
“It’s hard to say just one thing. We needed a spark way back when. Just like everyone else on this football team, he’s got things he needs to work on. That’s what it was at the time,” Kilam said about his decision to pull Ford from the starting QB role for Fajardo.
Fajardo agreed to a restructured contract with Edmonton for the 2025 season after Ford inked a three-year extension through the 2027 season to become the franchise’s starter. The six-foot-one, 195-pound dual-threat QB has started 23 games in the CFL dating back to his rookie year and produced a 10-13 win-loss record, but has consistently been at the centre of quarterback controversies.
In 58 total CFL games, Ford has completed 359-of-534 passes (67.2 percent) for 4,651 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions, while rushing 124 times for 1,129 yards and four majors. He was originally selected eighth overall in the first round of the 2022 CFL Draft after winning the Hec Crighton Trophy as Canada’s top university football player during his final year at Waterloo.
The Elks (7-9) will face the B.C. Lions (9-7) at 10:30 p.m. EDT on Friday, October 17, in a game that could end their playoff hopes. They will wrap up the regular season on Friday, October 24, when they host the Calgary Stampeders.