WINNIPEG \u2014 Taylor Elgersma doesn\u2019t view coming to the CFL and signing with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers this week as a consolation prize. <\/p>\n
The Canadian quarterback from London, Ont., told reporters in a video call Friday that his attempts to play in the NFL and United Football League are behind him for now and \u201cit was time to come home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy focus is on being a Bomber right now and becoming the best version of myself and helping this team win,\u201d Elgersma said during a stop in Arkansas on his way driving to Canada from Texas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where I am, and this is where I\u2019m excited to be. I see a long future here, and this is where my mindset is. If doors reopen (down south) sometime down the line, I think that would be a situation that I would have to consider then. Right now, I just signed here, and I\u2019m excited to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Blue Bombers signed the 24-year-old Elgersma to a standard rookie contract (two years plus an option) Thursday, and he\u2019ll report to rookie camp May 6.<\/p>\n
Winnipeg selected the six-foot-five, 227-pound quarterback in the second round (18th overall) of the 2025 CFL draft after a standout career at Wilfrid Laurier University.<\/p>\n
Elgersma was the 2024 Hec Crighton Trophy winner as Canadian university football\u2019s top player after passing for 4,252 yards with 35 touchdowns and 11 interceptions for the Golden Hawks. He was invited to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., the annual U.S. college showcase event, becoming the first quarterback from a Canadian university to receive an invitation.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up, I always envisioned myself being a pro football player. Period,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then after I got drafted (by the Bombers), I was ecstatic. And then the opportunities down south opened up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elgersma signed with the Green Bay Packers last May as an undrafted free agent. He got into three exhibition games and completed 16-of-23 passes for 166 yards and a TD. He was released and later had NFL looks with the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins.<\/p>\n
He joined the UFL\u2019s Birmingham Stallions earlier this year, but could only practise on his own and not play due to work visa issues. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe timing with us (Winnipeg) being two weeks out from training camp, it was time for me to make it clear that this is where I was going to be, this is where I wanted to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Some people predict Elgersma might be the heir to 37-year-old Bombers starter Zach Collaros, who\u2019s in the final year of his contract.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny time you\u2019re in a building with someone of his calibre, it\u2019s important that you soak up every single thing that you can from him. All the information, all the tips that I can gain from him, I want to learn them,\u201d he said of Collaros.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would also say there are a lot of other guys in this room and in this building that I have a lot of respect for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bombers veteran backup Chris Streveler recently retired, and depth quarterback Chase Artopoeus also decided to leave the game. Terry Wilson dressed for 36 Bomber games over the past two seasons, but has only had 22 pass attempts.<\/p>\n
Winnipeg also signed quarterback Bryce Perkins, last season\u2019s UFL most valuable player and offensive player of the year with the Michigan Panthers, and Payton Thorne, who was in the Cincinnati Bengals\u2019 camp last season. <\/p>\n
Elgersma is well aware of other Canadian quarterbacks leaving their mark on the CFL, including Nathan Rourke of the B.C. Lions and Tre Ford, who signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in February after four seasons in Edmonton. <\/p>\n
He said being a starting CFL quarterback would be a dream come true, especially representing athletes coming out of U Sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving a Canadian at the helm, I think it brings a lot of excitement to a fan base,\u201d Elgersma said. \u201cI think it brings a lot of excitement to the league, and I think it\u2019s a good thing for this league to have guys like that, and it\u2019s a good thing for Canadians to have guys to look up to. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, that\u2019s one thing that\u2019s super exciting, is I hope one day there\u2019s young kids out there who choose to play football because there\u2019s Canadians at the quarterback position that are leading the way. There have been great guys that are doing it right now, and I hope to follow in their footsteps.\u201d\u2028<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Judy Owen, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n
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