Official: Edmonton Elks ink Canadian receiver Brendan O’Leary-Orange

Photo courtesy: Bob Butrym/RFB Sport Photography

The Edmonton Elks have signed Canadian receiver Brendan O’Leary-Orange. 3DownNation reported the agreement during the negotiation window. It’s a one-year contract for the 2026 season.

The 29-year-old set new career-highs with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2025, making 22 catches for 336 yards and four touchdowns over 16 regular-season games.

The six-foot-four, 205-pound target was originally drafted by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the fourth round of the 2020 CFL Draft. He has since played 58 regular-season CFL games, making 63 catches for 1,015 yards and seven touchdowns. O’Leary-Orange won a Grey Cup with the Blue Bombers in 2021.

The native of Toronto, Ont. played collegiately at the University of Nevada, where he caught 61 passes for 941 yards and eight touchdowns over 35 games.

Pending CFL free agents were able to communicate with teams around the league from February 1 to 8, during which time contracts could be negotiated and agreed upon but not signed. Starting Tuesday, February 10, at noon EST, players can officially change teams.

The Edmonton Elks finished fifth in the West Division standings in 2025 with a 7-11 record, missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season. Cody Fajardo started the team’s final 13 regular-season games and went 6-7, throwing for 3,408 yards, 14 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Tre Ford started the first five, going 1-4, and threw for 984 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions.

The Elks ranked ninth in net offence, ninth in net defence, and fifth with a turnover differential of plus-four. The club’s leading rusher was Justin Rankin with 1,013 yards, the leading receiver was Kaion Julien-Grant with 820 yards, and the leading tackler was Joel Dublanko with 80 tackles. Edmonton finished seventh in attendance with average crowds of 19,050, which was a 7.1 percent decrease from the previous year.