According to TSN’s Farhan Lalji, the Edmonton Elks have released quarterback Taylor Cornelius.
The 28-year-old quarterback was owed a $100,000 offseason bonus on January 15, which is now gone. Due to the rules of the contract extension he signed during the 2022 season, the Elks will still owe him $100,000 in guaranteed compensation for the 2024 season.
Cornelius started seven of Edmonton’s first eight games of the 2023 season before being replaced by Canadian Tre Ford. He ended the season 103-of-175 for 1,305 yards, five touchdowns, and nine interceptions while rushing 61 times for 256 yards and eight scores.
Following a career in the XFL, the Oklahoma State graduate first joined the Elks in 2021, replacing injured starter Trevor Harris and eventually taking over as head coach. Following a coaching change, he started the 2022 season as the team’s fourth-stringer until being forced back into play due to injury, receiving a long-term contract deal as the team’s starter that September. Following the adoption of a new collective bargaining agreement, that pact was one of the first in the CFL to offer guaranteed money.
Cornelius has made 27 starts in 44 CFL games and has passed for 5,868 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 31 interceptions. He’s also run 153 times for 907 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Following the season, Edmonton head coach and general manager Chris Jones stated that Tre Ford will be the team’s starting quarterback to begin the 2024 season. The team is allegedly in talks with former Toronto Argonauts quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson.
On Saturday, June 8, the Elks will kick off their 75th anniversary season against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
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