Report: Elks agree to two-year deal with star defensive back Tyrell Ford

OK - so was nobody else on the phones today phoning any of these guys. Gotta credit Hervey, He said he was going after OL, DL & DB. Check, check, check.

Need help on DL - grab 3/4 of the reigning champs DL. (All worked with Maxie last year who’s back in Edmonton)

Need help on OL - grab All-CFL ctr, Beard - Korte (West All-Star Ctr moves back to G & already have top rated PFF LT Ivez back. Oops, Top PFF RT Boyko returns after cutting him to avoid paying bonus. Really must like playing there.

Did we forget DB’s - Top rated CB Ford joins bro. Metchie replaces Purifoy @ safety.

None of these guys are old. The Elks may even have gotten younger. And BTW Morgan joins running mate Anderson. Lot of Cdn talent coming in.

I get now why the Elks only signed 4 of 5 of their top 30 FA’s & why there are so many unsigned on the FA list. Easy to pick out a bunch of guys like Moncrief, Leonard, McKnight who free up $$$ & there’s Lewis’ $320K.

I’m impressed. Nothing certain till they sign up Feb 11. But again, where is everybody??? Is nobody working today?

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I see where you’re coming from. But I think your math might be somewhat off Squish. If Hervey picked up both Ford and Fajardo for $500K (hard money) he’s a bloody thief!
Nevertheless I agree with others that the Elks will a force this season. Hopefully that translates to butts in seats.

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They’re twins. They get together for Christmas - they’re going to talk football. This is a deal the Bombers had no control over. They can only put so much aside for a DB.

It’s like Abbott says about so called tampering. Most of the players are represented by a handful of agents & players talk amongst themselves. Adams Jr said when he went to Calgary that he was going to work hard to bring guys there who played with him. Is that tampering?? You have players from different teams working out together in the off season.

In the Elk case, just like Mace last year, all the Argos on DL were coached by Maxie, Ceresna didn’t LEAVE Edmonton, Jones traded him. No surprise he’s back. Metchie has connections to Kilam. Beard & Korte both played under Morris @ U of A & together with the Elks.

Is this a wake up call for some teams? A lot of high end players, 5 of them considered elite CDN’s, are gone. There’s still a lot of good talent out there but IMO some teams better step up. One day gone & the Elks likely have their roster pretty much figured out. I’m very interested to see how day 2 plays out.

I agree with you on WPG. They’ve made some tweaks which I like but they need to get some younger, solid pieces in the trenches. They now have to face the old Argo DL in the West & that Elk OL is loaded with YOUNG talent. I like the Riders as well in the West. Have no idea what BC or Calgary’s doing but I guess we’ll find out next week.

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Probably a bit off as I can’t find the real numbers, but last years 15 highest paid QB’s ranged from 600k hard money to 99k, hard money.
BLM made 225k hard money.
Masoli was the top paid backup at 133k.
Sooooo,since the EE helped him steer clear of retirement (or embarrassment of waiting forever for the phone to ring) I doubt his hard money is too much more than Ford’s, if its more. More likely his contract is heavy on performance bonuses.

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I would bet they made it up some way…

Well, he would but I heard Anderson was offered an NFL futures contract…He still shows on the roster though so no idea whats really going on there.
As for a lot of Canadian talent coming in - there were at least 9 Canadians on the FA list who have not been signed to this point.

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Ed Hervey seems to be born again with his move to Edmonton, signing every quality player with a football helmet. After disappointing Hamilton fans for years, Ed has found his calling to build a football team. Perhaps, the cold air of Edmonton has brought him back to life. Good work Ed.

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I have to think the new owner in Edmonton had a part to play in it as well :joy:

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Argos and Winnipeg are really paying the price for their success in recent years by being fleeced of top players, although the Argos have really been hit hard. They’ve lost their whole defensive line which was the league’s best. Don’t know how they’re going to recover from that heavy blow. Does not look good at all.

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This tracks with what Jon has said many times, it’s hard for successful clubs to stay that way today with the player movement we have now, and money just being thrown around at players.
It’s actually very impressive the Bombers were able to keep that team togthether for as long as they did.

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