The Edmonton Elks sent nearly a third of their 2023 sack production to Toronto when they traded all-star defensive lineman Jake Ceresna earlier this week, but assistant general manager Geroy Simon believes his team’s pass rush will be just fine going forward.
During an appearance on 630 CHED‘s The Elks This Week, Simon told broadcaster Morley Scott that the 29-year-old Ceresna was simply determined to be expendable as part of Edmonton’s continued rebuild.
“Jake did a great job for us and we’re thankful for Jake for all the sacrifice that he’s been through and the leadership that he’s given us,” he explained. “But it was just time to move on and get younger and cheaper in certain spots. That was a spot we deemed that we could make a move.”
Ceresna had been a stalwart in Edmonton since he was acquired via trade from the Ottawa Redblacks ahead of the 2018 season, racking up 145 tackles and 35 sacks through 61 games in Green and Gold. 2023 was a career year for the Cortland State product, as he moved from defensive tackle to primarily playing off the edge and posted 12 sacks in 18 games.
That tied for the Elks’ team lead with defensive end A.C. Leonard, who is himself a 32-year-old pending free agent. The franchise’s next most active lineman, former NFLer Kony Ealy, recorded four sacks before being released in late October. As it currently stands, the team has just three defensive linemen under contract for next season that recorded any sacks in 2023: second-year projects Elliott Brown and Noah Curtis, who had two apiece, and defensive tackle Sam Acheampong, who had just one.
With rumours swirling that former Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive coordinator Jason Shivers will move to Edmonton in a similar capacity, the team has been linked to pending free agent Anthony Lanier II as a potential replacement for Ceresna. Nevertheless, Simon believes the team has the talent in the building to compensate for the hole up front regardless of what happens in free agency.
“I think we have some guys in-house at this point that can fill that role,” he said. “Coach Jones and some of the other coaching staff, we feel confident in their ability to find and develop defensive linemen. That’s kind of been Coach’s specialty in finding and developing defensive linemen, so we feel comfortable with making the move and moving on from Jake.”
That should mean an increased role up front for a quartet of Canadians, including Curtis, Acheampong, J-Min Pelley and Cole Nelson. However, the team’s ratio got stronger elsewhere by shipping out Ceresna, acquiring all-star Canadian receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. in exchange.
Edmonton will enjoy almost no cap savings from the move, as Gittens’ reported $210,000 price tag nearly matches Cersna’s $212,000 in earnings. However, the team adds a ratio-breaking target just one year removed from a thousand-yard season in which he caught passes from new Elks’ quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson.
Even after suffering a down year in 2023 that limited him to just 10 games due to injury, Gittens still managed to put up 35 receptions for 416 yards and a touchdown. The Elks’ two starting Canadian receivers, Gavin Cobb and Vincent Forbes-Mombleau, combined for 26 reception and 417 yards.
“He’s explosive, he’s tough, he’s a smart player. He’s a selfless player. He’s a leader. That’s kind of what we’re trending towards,” Simon noted. “We want guys who are selfless players, who have had success in this league. And at 26 years old, it’s one of those things where it’s almost hard to turn it down because he’s such an explosive player and he’s young.”
“This isn’t a fly-by-night move, we plan on Kurleigh being in Edmonton for a long time.”
That was worth losing one of the defensive stars on a team with painfully few of them, having allowed the third-most offensive yardage against last season and surrendered the second-most points.
The Elks will open the team’s 75th anniversary season on Saturday, June 8 by hosting the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
