Just like a receiver may have to do during a game depending on defensive coverages, Armanti Edwards had to change his route this off-season.
The 32-year-old had hit the free agent market on February 11 and without a CFL contract in hand, he had to make a decision, signing with the XFL’s Dallas Renegades.
“Everything was all of a sudden,” Edwards said over the phone on Friday from his home in South Carolina. “I definitely wanted to stay in the CFL but the free agency thing wasn’t working out as I planned at that moment. Obviously, I have to consider my family first and be able to do the things that I want to do with them.
“I had to try to take a different route at that moment. Fortunately, I still had one or two teams that were interested throughout this off-season in the CFL.”
One of those teams was the Edmonton Eskimos, who offered Edwards a contract last week following the announcement in March that XFL players were permitted to ask for an early release and sign with NFL or CFL clubs.
Throughout this off-season, while Edwards was in the XFL, the Eskimos continued to keep in contact with the five-foot-11, 183-pound pass catcher. He’d get phone calls from general manager Brock Sunderland and sometimes the coaching staff, including new bench boss Scott Milanovich.
There were no talks of contracts or the future, since Edwards was under contract with Dallas until May 31. But having a team care so much about his general wellbeing was intriguing and something on his mind when he was looking to return to the CFL.
“They were just pretty much one of the only teams that kept in touch here and there while I was in the XFL,” said Edwards. “Obviously we couldn’t talk contracts or anything but they definitely kept in touch to see how I was doing and how everything was going. It felt genuine and after they did that it just made me feel like they wanted me and that’s where I chose.”
Since putting pen to paper, Edwards has been talking with quarterback Trevor Harris, who signed an extension with the Esks through 2022 earlier this off-season. He says it’s a little early for the pair to start talking X’s and O’s. Instead they’ve been checking to see how eachother, and their respective families, are coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“He called me to congratulate me and welcome me to the team and how excited he was to work with me,” Edwards said. “Likewise, I expressed how excited I was to be an extra target for him and we really haven’t dove deep into the playbook just yet. (It’s just been) small talk, seeing how he’s holding up, and how his family is holding up and vice versa.”
Now a member of the Green and Gold, Edwards joins a pair of pass-catchers in Ricky Collins Jr. and Greg Ellingson as another option for Harris to throw to this upcoming campaign. Collins and Ellingson were top targets for Harris last season as both hauled in over 1,000 yards in their first seasons as Eskimos.
Edwards is coming off his best season in the CFL, hauling hitting the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career and catching a personal-best seven touchdown passes as a member of the Toronto Argonauts. And while the Argos had a forgettable season, finishing 4-14 and missing the playoffs, Edwards finally hit a personal goal he had be trying to achieve since he joined the league in 2016.
“At that moment, it was bitter sweet,” said Edwards of the 2019 season. “I did achieve a personal goal but at the same time our team as a whole, we weren’t doing very good. It was obviously a bad year. It did help with healing, a little bit of healing of the wounds (to get 1,000 yards) but I couldn’t celebrate it like I wanted to.”
The QB-turned-receiver hopes he can celebrate how he wants to this year, as he looks to hit the milestone again and be a key piece of the Eskimos offence to help put them over the edge to get to the Grey Cup.
“Getting 1,000 yards as a receiver, that’s pretty big for me especially with the trials and tribulations I’ve had since transitioning from playing quarterback to receiver as a professional,” said Edwards.
“Just getting 1,000 yards is pretty big for me and having zero drops, that’s another huge goal for me.”