EDMONTON – Who will be catching passes from Tre Ford in 2025?
CFL Free Agency is quickly approaching and is set to begin at 10:00 a.m. MT on Feb. 11. To prime Double E fans for the weeks to come, GoElks.com has compiled a list of all the players currently under contract with the club, those whose contracts will expire on Feb. 11, and a list of the top CFL free agents at each position as compiled by the league.
For the third instalments in the series, we’ll take a look at the wide receivers.
Currently under contract for 2025: Frederik Antoine, Corey Crooms Jr., Kurleigh Gittens Jr., JJ Laap, Zach Mathis, Tre Odoms-Dukes, Arkell Smith
Pending free agents: Gavin Cobb, Vincent Forbes-Mombleau, Tevin Jones, Eugene Lewis, Hergy Mayala, Kyran Moore
CFL top 30 free agents: Jalen Philpot (30) Calgary Stampeders (extended), Dalton Schoen (19) Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Kenny Lawler (18) Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Eugene Lewis (13) Edmonton Elks, Janarion Grant (7) Toronto Argonauts, Justin Hardy (5) Ottawa RedBlacks (extended), Justin McInnis (2) B.C. Lions
WHO’S IN, WHO’S OUT & WHO’S AVAILABLE?
The Elks wide receiver situation is completely up in the air entering 2025 Free Agency.
Over 3,400 receiving yards from the 2024 team is either slated to head to free agency, or have already been released from the roster. At the forefront is Eugene Lewis who is fresh off a season that saw him haul in 74 passes for 1,070 yards and a league leading 10 touchdowns. The talent is undeniable, but with a player of Lewis’s talent is sure to come a big price tag. The 31-year-old finished last season as the highest paid non-quarterback in Canadian Football.
Joining Lewis in free agency could be last year’s surprise in Tevin Jones. The veteran began the season on the Elks practice roster before emerging as the Green and Gold’s primary threat down the stretch. Jones finished the year with 40 receptions for 731 yards and five touchdowns, with all of his production coming from Week 9 onwards. Other significant pending free agents include the revitalized Hergy Mayala — whose 41 receptions for 503 yards and five touchdowns were his best marks since his 2019 rookie season – as well as Kyran Moore, who missed the entire 2024 season due to injury.
Edmonton will also be without Dillon Mitchell, who was released in early January and has gone on to sign with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
As for players under contract for the Elks, the headliner is former East Division Most Outstanding Canadian Kurleigh Gittens Jr., who made a successful return from a hip injury that cost him the tail end of his 2023 season. Gittens Jr.’s 85 receptions ranked fifth in the CFL in 2024, while his 847 receiving yards was fifth among all National wide receivers. Joining him in the National receiver ranks is last season’s Supplemental Draft pick in Zach Mathis. The 24-year-old showed glimpses of potential when he slid into a starting role from Week 16 onward, including a sensational touchdown grab in the Elks final game of the season against Toronto.
A TWO-PLAY TD DRIVE WITH UNDER A MINUTE LEFT?#CFLGameday on TSN
📲: Stream on CFL+ pic.twitter.com/V2WtCteoKX— CFL (@CFL) October 26, 2024
The rest of the Double E’s receiving core features a lot of youth and a lot of upside. Arkell Smith is back after flashing early in the season prior to injury. Tre Odoms-Dukes joins the Green and Gold after a 2023 season in Calgary where he hauled in 60 balls for 686 yards and two touchdowns. Corey Crooms Jr. and JJ. Laap head North to the CFL after stints with the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams respectively.
If General Manager Ed Hervey aims to stick within the CFL for a receiver addition, there is plenty of fire power available in the CFL’s top-30 free agents including a Blue Bombers dynamic duo of Dalton Schoen and Kenny Lawler, who each have 1,000 yard seasons under their belt.
The top prize available is National wide receiver Justin McInnis from the B.C. Lions. Who is fresh off leading the CFL in receiving yards with 1,469 yards on 92 receptions. The 6-foot-5 wideout has familiarity with new Elks offensive Coordinator Jordan Maksymic, with the best two seasons of his career coming under the play caller.