The 2021 Edmonton Elks season was the 63rd season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 72nd overall. This was the first season that the team competed under a new name, as the "Eskimos" moniker was retired in 2020, and the new name "Elks" was announced on June 1, 2021.[1]
| 2021 Edmonton Elks season | |
|---|---|
| General manager | Brock Sunderland |
| Head coach | Jaime Elizondo |
| Home field | Commonwealth Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 3–11 |
| Division place | 5th, West |
| Playoff finish | did not qualify |
| Team MOP | James Wilder Jr. |
| Team MOC | Sean Whyte |
| Team MOR | Nyles Morgan |
| Uniform | |
 | |
The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2018 following a week 14 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders on November 5, 2021.[2] The team also finished the season without a home win for the first time in the team's 72–year history following that same home loss to the Roughriders.[2]
This was the fourth season under general manager Brock Sunderland.[3] This would have been the first season under head coach Scott Milanovich, but he resigned from his position on January 25, 2021.[4] Instead, Jaime Elizondo was named as the 23rd head coach in the team's history on February 1, 2021.[5]
An 18-game season schedule was originally released on November 20, 2020, but it was announced on April 21, 2021 that the start of the season would likely be delayed until August and feature a 14-game schedule.[6][7] On June 15, 2021, the league released the revised 14-game schedule with regular season play beginning on August 5, 2021.[8]
Offseason
CFL Global Draft
The 2021 CFL Global Draft took place on April 15, 2021.[9][10] With the format being a snake draft, Edmonton selected second in the odd-numbered rounds and eighth in the even-numbered rounds.[9]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | University/Club Team | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Steven Nielsen | OL | Eastern Michigan |  Denmark |
| 2 | 17 | Misiona Aiolupotea-Pei | DL | Washington State |  New Zealand |
| 3 | 20 | Tibo Debaillie | DL | Towson |  Belgium |
| 4 | 35 | Matt Leo | DE | Iowa State |  Australia |
CFL National Draft
The 2021 CFL Draft took place on May 4, 2021.[11] The team had six selections in the six-round snake draft and had the fifth pick in each of the rounds.[12][13]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | University Team | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Cole Nelson | DL | Alberta | Edmonton, AB |
| 2 | 14 | Grant McDonald | LB | Calgary | Tsawwassen, BC |
| 3 | 23 | Deonte Glover | RB | Shepherd | Inwood, WV |
| 4 | 32 | Dominic Johnson | WR | Buffalo | Windsor, ON |
| 5 | 41 | Peter Kourtis | OL | Saint Mary's | Toronto, ON |
| 6 | 50 | Kenan Clarke | DB | Cornell | Pickering, ON |
Preseason
Due to the shortening of the season, the CFL confirmed that pre-season games would not be played in 2021.[8]
Planned schedule
| Week | Game | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | TV | Venue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Bye | |||||||||
| B | 1 | Sat, May 29 | 2:00 p.m. MDT | vs. Calgary Stampeders | NA | Commonwealth Stadium | ||||
| C | 2 | Fri, Jun 4 | 8:00 p.m. MDT | at BC Lions | NA | BC Place | ||||
Regular season
Season standings
| Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | PF | PA | Div | Stk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 351 | 187 | 8–1 | L2 | Details |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 290 | 285 | 5–4 | L1 | Details |
| Calgary Stampeders | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 315 | 263 | 6–4 | W3 | Details |
| BC Lions | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 313 | 351 | 2–7 | W1 | Details |
| Edmonton Elks | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 246 | 377 | 2–7 | L1 | Details |
Season schedule
The Elks initially had a schedule that featured 18 regular season games beginning on June 12 and ending on October 30.[6] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the Canadian Football League delayed the start of the regular season to August 5, 2021 and the Elks began their 14-game season on August 7, 2021.[8]
On August 22, 2021, it was announced that the Elks had several players test positive for COVID-19, so the August 26, 2021 game was postponed with the rescheduled date to be declared once the Elks pass health and safety protocols.[15] The CFL announced on September 2, 2021 that the game was rescheduled for Tuesday, November 16, 2021, meaning that the Elks will play three games in just a seven-day span.[16]
| Week | Game | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Sat, Aug 7 | 8:00 p.m. MDT | Ottawa Redblacks | L 12–16 | 0–1 | TSN/RDS2/ESPN2 | Commonwealth Stadium | 30,302 | Recap |
| 2 | 2 | Sat, Aug 14 | 5:00 p.m. MDT | Montreal Alouettes | L 13–30 | 0–2 | TSN/RDS | Commonwealth Stadium | 25,116 | Recap |
| 3 | 3 | Thurs, Aug 19 | 8:00 p.m. MDT | @ BC Lions | W 21–16 | 1–2 | TSN/ESPN2 | BC Place | 12,500 | Recap |
| 4 | Bye (originally scheduled for Thurs, Aug 26, at Toronto Argonauts; rescheduled to week 16) | |||||||||
| 5 | 4 | Mon, Sept 6 | 2:30 p.m. MDT | @ Calgary Stampeders | W 32–20 | 2–2 | TSN/ESPNews | McMahon Stadium | 31,039 | Recap |
| 6 | 5 | Sat, Sept 11 | 5:00 p.m. MDT | Calgary Stampeders | L 16–32 | 2–3 | TSN/RDS | Commonwealth Stadium | 33,493* | Recap |
| 7 | 6 | Sat, Sept 18 | 7:45 p.m. MDT | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 22–37 | 2–4 | TSN | Commonwealth Stadium | 23,310 | Recap |
| 8 | Bye | |||||||||
| 9 | 7 | Tues, Sept 28 | 5:30 p.m. MDT | @ Ottawa Redblacks | L 24–34 | 2–5 | TSN/RDS2 | TD Place Stadium | 12,108 | Recap |
| 10 | 8 | Fri, Oct 8 | 6:30 p.m. MDT | @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 3–30 | 2–6 | TSN/RDS2 | IG Field | 27,388 | Recap |
| 11 | 9 | Fri, Oct 15 | 7:00 p.m. MDT | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 16–26 | 2–7 | TSN | Commonwealth Stadium | 24,276 | Recap |
| 12 | Bye | |||||||||
| 13 | 10 | Fri, Oct 29 | 7:45 p.m. MDT | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 23–39 | 2–8 | TSN | Commonwealth Stadium | 22,857 | Recap |
| 14 | 11 | Fri, Nov 5 | 7:45 p.m. MDT | Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 17–19 | 2–9 | TSN | Commonwealth Stadium | 24,115 | Recap |
| 15 | 12 | Sat, Nov 13 | 2:00 p.m. MST | @ Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 24–29 | 2–10 | TSN/RDS | Mosaic Stadium | 26,056 | Recap |
| 16 | 13 | Tues, Nov 16 | 5:30 p.m. MST | @ Toronto Argonauts | W 13–7 | 3–10 | TSN | BMO Field | 6,247 | Recap |
| 16 | 14 | Fri, Nov 19 | 8:30 p.m. MST | @ BC Lions | L 10–43 | 3–11 | TSN | BC Place | 12,500 | Recap |
*Top attendance in CFL
Team
Roster
| Quarterbacks Running backs
Fullbacks
Receivers
Offensive linemen
| Defensive linemen
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| 1-Game Injured List
6-Game Injured List
| Practice roster
Suspended
| ||||||
| Italics indicate American player • Bold indicates Global player • 45 Active, 9 Injured, 17 Practice, 8 Suspended Roster updated 2021-10-18 • Depth chart • Transactions • More CFL rosters | |||||||||
Coaching staff
Front Office
Head Coach
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coach
Strength and Conditioning
| |||||