EDMONTON – The Green and Gold are back and ready to roll.
CFL Training Camps officially kicked off across the league on Sunday, and it was a fantastic return to the field for Edmonton Elks Football. With the field turf replacement still underway at Play Alberta Field at Commonwealth Stadium, the team took to Clarke Stadium for the first of 16 practices and walkthroughs. And by all accounts, it was a very positive session.
The intimate environment of Clarke allowed for the mass of Elks fans in attendance to get a closer-than-usual view at the 90-plus players vying for a spot on the roster for the 2026 season. Fans arrived with their friends, family and a few coffees in tow to watch the lively first day of camp – and it was a gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by the Elks players.
“The excitement is here, it’s in the city. The fans are yearning for a winning team and the players are yearning for it as well,” Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo said. “You can feel the electricity, you can feel the build up. Seeing the families and seeing everybody here and being able to perform in front of the fans, it’ll never get old.”
FAMILIAR FACES
This year’s camp has a bit of a different feel than some of the more recent Elks camps. The on-field interactions were less about introductions and more about reunions, as the continuity preached by the Green and Gold’s front office has started to take shape.
“I feel like it’s night and day, and that starts with the coaching staff,” Elks Head Coach Mark Kilam said. “I feel like we’re further ahead and I feel like this football team is further ahead.”
Much of the chatter around the Elks in recent seasons has been around their slow starts to the season. The last few years have seen the team put themselves in an early hole, only to be forced to scratch and claw their way back into potential contention. The common theme over those years has been change, for better or for worse, but that is not the case in 2026.
Last season set a foundation and it is one the coaching staff intends to build upon as the Elks assemble their squad in this year’s Training Camp.
“From one a year ago, there’s way more clarity,” Kilam said. “Everyone understands what we’re trying to build this on, and what we want our identity to be.”
Fajardo will be one of the main factors in setting that tone during the season. The veteran quarterback is already lauded for his skills as a locker room leader, and that should only grow in a year where he enters camp as the appointed number one quarterback.
The 34-year-old understands the urgency ahead to make sure this year’s Elks take advantage of their continuity and start the season with a splash.
“You want to put yourself in the driver’s seat of the bus and the only way you can do that is by winning early,” Fajardo said. “We don’t have to overhaul this whole system. We don’t have a bunch of new guys coming in. We don’t have new systems that we have to learn. So we’re able to kind of have that continuity and gel a little bit quicker.”
RETURN OF THE MACK
Once the Elks broke off into team sessions, Fajardo made sure to put on a show for those in the stands. The first big play of 2026 Training Camp came in the form of deep corner route to his old familiar target in Austin Mack.
“Yeah, he popped it off for us,” Fajardo said. “I told him even though he’s in the (number) three, I can still see the same running motion like back in Montreal. Sometimes it’s just like riding a bike. We have a great relationship, and we spent two great years in Montreal and were very successful. To have the second play of the Training Camp pop off like that just goes to show that we haven’t lost a step.”
As Fajardo alluded to, Mack joins the Elks after a couple of successful seasons with the Montreal Alouettes. The Ohio State product has all the tools, ability and pedigree to be the bona fide number one target in offensive coordinator Jordan Maksymic’s offence. At his best, Mack has been named East Division All-CFL (2023), finished top five in the CFL in multiple receiving categories, and has won a Grey Cup. It’s now up to Mack to keep stacking good days like today and see if he can get back to those lofty heights he set in 2023. However, if Sunday’s first practice is an early glimpse of what the Fajardo-Mack connection can look like, Elks fans should be excited to see the encore.
Back at it#GoElks pic.twitter.com/xmZwVOxGFs
— Edmonton Elks (@GoElks) May 10, 2026
OPEN PRACTICE
The Elks will hit the field again on Monday morning for their first double practice of training camp. The action will get started at 9:00 am and Elks fans are welcomed to attend (VIEW THE FULL CAMP SCHEDULE HERE).
The practices at Clarke are intimate and it’s a great opportunity to get a close up view of the team ahead of Monday, May 29’s Night at the Knothole game – also taking place at Clarke Stadium (LIMITED TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE).
“All of our practices are open, and they’re all at Clarke. I mean, the fence line is right there, and even on the other side, you’re right on the field,” Kilam said. “I think sight lines are great. I think you can hear everything that’s going on. It’s a mandate for our club that we want to connect with the community. We’re trying to fill the room with players that will connect with the community, and I think that’s important.”