{"id":490206,"date":"2026-02-21T15:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T15:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/490206\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T15:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T15:46:09","slug":"theyre-going-to-feel-me-malik-carney-warns-saskatchewan-roughriders-after-leaving-for-edmonton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/490206\/","title":{"rendered":"‘They\u2019re going to feel me’: Malik Carney warns Saskatchewan Roughriders after leaving for Edmonton"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Photo courtesy: Edmonton Elks.<\/p>\n

Malik Carney admitted it was tough to leave the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2026 CFL free agency and sign with the Edmonton Elks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose last couple of years, build a brotherhood with\u00a0some of those guys that\u2019ll last forever. That\u2019s what\u2019s unique about this game; it\u2019s not the football, it\u2019s not the money \u2014 it\u2019s the relationships you build that last a lifetime. I\u2019m grateful for the boys that I spent the last two years with over there in Sask. Sometimes when you\u2019re comfortable \u2014 being comfortable is not always the best situation,\u201d Carney told 3DownNation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know a lot of fans have questions and wonder how things go down, it\u2019s not always what it seems \u2014 not diving too much into that. I would have loved to have been back in Sask, but it didn\u2019t play out that way. When you have a great opportunity to further your career, do bigger and better things,\u00a0you\u2019re going to take those opportunities. Signing with the Elks, I feel like that was the best opportunity for me to further my career,\u00a0win another Grey Cup and build another brotherhood with the guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carney did not want to disclose which other teams showed interest in him during the communication window. The 30-year-old was undoubtedly the best pass rusher to make it to the open market<\/a>. He led the three-down league with a 14.9 percent pressure rate in 2025 and recorded 62 QB pressures while producing a single-season career-high eight sacks. That\u2019s why Carney was sought after by CFL franchises.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was honestly 50-50. I had other teams showing a lot of interest and really undecided until it was time to make a decision. Not only the Elks, there was other teams. I narrowed it down to the coaching staff.\u00a0I felt like Edmonton was the best fit schematically and roster-wise,\u201d Carney said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey feel that I was a piece that can come in and help impact the season. I\u2019m grateful that I\u2019m in this position to be able to be named that. I felt like Edmonton was the best fit. The coaching staff, the front office, the personnel, and also knowing a few guys who were already here on the team. It was an easy decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Business played a major role in his decision to move to the Alberta capital. Carney received a $150,000 signing bonus to ink his contract, which is worth $270,000 in hard money for both 2026 and 2027<\/a>. That totals $540,000 in hard money over the two-year term. General manager Ed Hervey<\/a> made him the highest-paid American defensive player in the CFL\u2019s salary cap era.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat sounds amazing. I\u2019m fortunate to be able to do what I do, play this game and take care of my family. I\u2019m fortunate to be able to be in this place, in this spot\u00a0in my career to where I can do that for my family,\u201d Carney said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving that relationship with Ed, it was a plus, but it was more than having that relationship with him. We definitely had conversations when we were in the midst of it, but it\u2019s a business decision. I had to weigh all my options.\u00a0It was about the best fit for not only myself, but for my family. As a man, we live to provide and protect.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Elks\u2019 offensive line protected Cody Fajardo well enough for the Green and Gold to beat Saskatchewan in Week 17 last season. Fajardo completed 18-of-23 passes for 305 yards as Edmonton won 27-25 over the eventual 112th Grey Cup champions. Hervey made No. 7 the franchise QB with a contract extension in December. His presence with the Elks played a role in Carney joining the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatching Cody from afar,\u00a0I believe in his talents. He was in Montreal getting it done. I know that he still is very capable of getting it done,\u201d Carney said. \u201cLooking at the offence, I feel like the offence was very explosive. That was another part of me coming to the Elks, my belief in Cody and the offence that he can be so explosive\u00a0and lead that offence to scoring points and then win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edmonton plays Saskatchewan three times during the 2026 regular season. Back-to-back in Week 8 and 9; Thursday, July 23 at Mosaic Stadium, then Saturday, August 1 at Commonwealth Stadium. Both teams end the regular schedule in Week 21, playing each other in Regina on Saturday, October 24.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to see me, and they\u2019re going to feel me,\u201d Carney said. \u201cThat\u2019s all I got to say for them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo courtesy: Edmonton Elks. Malik Carney admitted it was tough to leave the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2026 CFL…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":490207,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[166835,166836,901,49,48,7028,521,522,520,13417,23752,13264,77213,68627,69897,13416,10599,45083,55574,24373,4400,82],"class_list":["post-490206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-3down","tag-3downnation","tag-alberta","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-ed-hervey","tag-edmonton","tag-edmonton-elks","tag-elks","tag-grey-cup","tag-malik-carney","tag-mark-kilam","tag-regina","tag-riders","tag-roughriders","tag-saskatchewan","tag-saskatchewan-roughriders","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/490207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}