The Edmonton Elks have released American running back Shannon Brooks after a promising first season with the team.
The 27-year-old appeared in all 18 games as a rookie with the Green and Gold, serving as the backup behind Kevin Brown. He carried 36 times for 175 yards and caught seven passes for 95 more during his time in Edmonton.
Prior to his time in the CFL, the five-foot-11, 200-pound ball carrier racked up 431 carries for 2,290 yards and 20 touchdowns in 38 career games at the University of Minnesota from 2015 to 2019. The Georgia native also recorded two receiving touchdowns and threw for another, a pass that was caught by current Winnipeg Blue Bomber Drew Wolitarsky.
Brooks played for the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League in 2022, coming over after a stint with the Massachusetts Pirates in 2021. He ran for 396 yards on 89 attempts this past season, adding 18 touchdowns on the ground and nine receiving scores.
In addition to the release, the Elks signed American defensive end Aaron Adeoye and receiver Malik Flowers to their training camp roster.
Adeoye played college basketball for four different schools — Ball State (2011-12), John A. Logan College (2012-13), Western Kentucky (2013-14) and Southeast Missouri State (2014-15) — before converting to football in his final year with the Redhawks. He played just four games that season but landed a spot with the Salinas Liberty of Champions Indoor Football in 2017.
After stints with The Spring League and the AAF’s Birmingham Iron, the six-foot-six, 273-pound pass rusher signed with the Baltimore Ravens in 2019 and played one game for the team over the next two seasons. He later spent time with the New York Jets and Green Bay Packers.
The 30-year-old has since won consecutive spring football championships, winning with the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions in 2022 and the XFL’s Arlington Renegades in 2023. In two games for the Renegades last season, he recorded seven tackles, two tackles-for-loss and 1.5 sacks.
Flowers spent three weeks on Edmonton’s practice roster in 2023 before being released in October, allowing him to sign with the Las Vegas Raiders practice squad. The Fontana, California native had stints in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks earlier that season.
The six-foot-two, 202-pound receiver spent five years (2018-2022) at the University of Montana, earning second-team FCS All-American honours as a returner three times and tied the NCAA Division I record with seven career kick return touchdowns.
The Elks will open the team’s 75th anniversary season on Saturday, June 8 by hosting the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
