The Edmonton Elks traded veteran linebacker Nyles Morgan and two draft picks to Ottawa in exchange for two draft picks.
The Elks essentially moved up eight spots in the draft and freed up salary cap space, trading Morgan, the 23rd pick and 41st pick in the upcoming 2026 CFL draft in exchange for the 21st pick and the 35th pick.
Edmonton will have four of the first 21 picks in the draft as they are expected to receive a compensatory second-round pick for leading the CFL in snaps by National players.
Morgan played five seasons with the Green and Gold. He had 100+ tackles in 2023 and 2024 finishing fourth in 2023 with 105 and third in 2024 with 109.
He only played 11 games last year as he battled injuries and when you combine that with his salary and the play of younger Elks linebackers Joel Dublanko, Brock Mogensen and Nick Anderson the trade makes sense.
The Edmonton Elks defence improved drastically as the season progressed and they got solid performances from young players in the secondary, at linebacker and on the defensive line. They will be a young group next year, in age, but those young players will now be in their second, third or fourth seasons. That experience will allow defensive coordinator JC Sherritt to expand the playbook from the start of the season.
OTHER NEWS…
— The Elks signed JJ Ross to a new two-year deal through to the end of the 2027 season. Ross had an excellent rookie campaign finishing with 52 tackles, seven pass knockdowns and three interceptions in 13 games.
Ross along with Kenny Logan, Tyrell Ford, Kordell Jackson, Kobe Williams, Chelan Garnes and Devodrick Bynum give the Elks a nice mix of speed, size, physicality and experience to battle for jobs in the secondary in 2026.
— Anderson, Dublanko and Mogensen should be the three starting linebackers in 2026 and Anderson will need a bounce-back season after he had a stellar rookie campaign in 2024, but struggled with injuries and not playing within the structure.
— Will the Elks re-sign Jake Ceresna? He battled injuries all season, and if he is looking for similar $235K salary as last season, I don’t see the Elks signing him. He would need to take a significant reduction, and even then, the emergence of Jonathan Kongbo, Brandon Barlow, and Noah Curtis give them some options. I think Ceresna can still help, a lot, but how healthy will he be? Was last season a one-off, or the start of injuries slowing him down?
— I expect the Elks to release Tre Ford before his $110K roster bonus is due on February 1st. I’m curious where he will sign. He needs to go to a team with an offensive coordinator or quarterback coach who is good at developing quarterbacks.
— Most of the Elks coaching staff will return in 2026. Demetrious Maxie won’t be returning. He wants to be a defensive coordinator, but with JC Sherrit just starting his second season in that role, that opportunity doesn’t exist in Edmonton. Maxie isn’t upset, but he will want to find a team where the DC role is at least a possibility.
— The Elks own the 3rd, 12th, 19th and 21st picks in the upcoming CFL draft. Would they take offensive lineman, Albert Reese IV? He’s the son of Albert Reese, who played defensive line with the EE for five seasons. The younger Reese was born in Edmonton when he is father played here and he’s ranked 5th on many scouting rankings. He has played both right guard and right tackle.
The Elks need to improve their Canadian depth on the O-line. Logan Taylor is ranked 2nd, Reese 5th, Giordano Vaccaro 11th, Darius Bell 13th and Jez Janvier 14th and Taylor Lawrence 17th. The Elks might be wise to take two of them if possible among their top four picks.
