The Edmonton Elks are making no promises when it comes to the starting status of Canadian quarterback Tre Ford in Week 8.
“We’re just gonna have to wait and see on that one,” head coach Mark Kilam told 880 CHED as the team returned from the bye on Sunday. “Tre has things he needs to work on, just like every other football player on this team. He knows those things. We’ve told him those things, and we expect him to continue developing. Everybody on offence has things they need to work on.”
Ford was pulled from the Elks’ Week 6 loss to the B.C. Lions after he completed just four of 12 passes for 34 yards and one interception in roughly three quarters of action. The dual-threat pivot also carried the ball four times for 47 yards, but struggled to generate any offensive traction.
Edmonton finished with just 160 yards of net offence — 91 of which came courtesy of backup Cody Fajardo. That has led to speculation that the team could make a permanent change after their week off, though Ford remained at the helm of the starting unit during a limited practice session on Sunday.
“It really just boils down to missing some throws. Again, I feel like I saw the field well, just didn’t connect on some of the shots we took,” Ford said of his performance. “When you’re taking some of those shots, they’re kind of hit or miss. They put you in bad situations, which led to a lot of two-and-outs. We didn’t stay on the field very long.”
The Elks signed Ford, who they selected in the first round of the 2022 CFL Draft, to a three-year contract extension this offseason worth up to $367,000 in 2025. That represented a substantial commitment to the former Hec Crighton Trophy winner as their face of the franchise after years of yo-yoing by the previous administration, though it has yet to pay off.
Through five games this season, the 27-year-old has completed 82-of-121 passes (67.7 percent) for 984 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions, while rushing for 152 yards and a score. He appeared to be trending in the right direction with consecutive strong outings from the pocket and a perfect passer rating in Week 5, before suffering a major setback against B.C.
Nevertheless, Ford believes his development arrow is pointing upward in offensive coordinator Jordan Maksymic’s system.
“I would actually say I feel like I’m in a pretty decent spot,” he insisted. “I’m pretty level-headed, so I don’t get too high or too low. I watched the film, and you take the good and the bad. I know I can throw a corner route, I can throw a COP route, which are things I did miss in the game. Again, they’re unfortunate to miss, but happy to see them from a read perspective.”
“I am starting to feel a little bit more comfortable in the offence. I don’t want to say I’m at a good place, because, obviously, we didn’t have a great performance, but I felt good with the offence and the reads. Just got to make the throws.”
If Ford can’t do that consistently, the Elks could turn to Fajardo, who is just one season removed from a Grey Cup MVP performance. The 33-year-old threw for 3,105 yards, 16 touchdowns, and seven interceptions last year with Montreal, helping that team to the best record in the league.
Kilam is not yet ready to tip his hand before Edmonton (1-4) returns to action on Friday, July 25, when they visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-1).
