The Ottawa Redblacks have acquired quarterback Nick Arbuckle from the Edmonton Elks in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2023 CFL Draft.
“We’re pleased to be able to add Nick to our locker room at this point of the season,” said Redblacks’ general manager Shawn Burke in a statement. “He’s an experienced player in our league and we look forward to having him on our side as a member of the R-Nation family.”
Arbuckle dressed for five games with Edmonton this season, completing 64.3 percent of his passes for 892 yards, two touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He won the starting job out of training camp but was demoted to a backup role in Week 4 following the promotion of Canadian quarterback Tre Ford.
The six-foot-one, 213-pound passer was traded to Edmonton in October 2021 after playing seven games as a member of the Toronto Argonauts. He completed 62.7 percent of his passes with the Boatmen for 1,158 yards, five touchdowns, and six interceptions.
The Georgia State product signed his first CFL contract with the Calgary Stampeders in March 2017, though he played sparingly until 2019 when he threw for 2,103 yards, 11 touchdowns, and five interceptions while Bo Levi Mitchell missed seven games due to injury.
Arbuckle was traded to Ottawa in January 2020 but never dressed for the team due to the cancellation of the CFL season. He was released by the team in February 2021 when the two sides were unable to restructure his contract.
The Redblacks have lost franchise quarterback Jeremiah Masoli for the next two to three months following an illegal hit by Saskatchewan Roughriders’ defensive lineman Garrett Marino. He started all four of the club’s games this season and completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 1,083 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
