Official: Edmonton Elks sign QB Taylor Powell from Hamilton

Photo courtesy: Bob Butrym/RFB Sport Photography

The Edmonton Elks have officially signed American quarterback Taylor Powell. 3DownNation reported the agreement last week. It’s a two-year contract, tying Powell to Edmonton through 2027.

The 27-year-old originally came to the CFL as a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2023 and made nine starts as a rookie. He completed 67.5 percent of his pass attempts for 2,283 yards, 10 touchdowns, and nine interceptions, and rushed 28 times for 196 yards and one score. Powell led Hamilton in every major passing category that season and recorded the most wins of any of the team’s quarterbacks.

The native of Fayetteville, Ark. was momentarily promoted to the starting role over Bo Levi Mitchell partway through the 2024 season, though he suffered a head injury and never regained the starting job. Powell threw for 422 yards and two touchdowns that season and rushed eight times for 71 yards.

In 2025, Powell threw just eight pass attempts despite suiting up for all 18 regular-season games in Steeltown, completing six tosses for 47 yards.

Before joining the Tiger-Cats, Powell attended rookie camp with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. He played collegiately at Missouri (2017-19), Troy (2021), and Eastern Michigan (2022), throwing for 3,793 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions across 14 combined starts.

Ed Hervey, the general manager in Edmonton, was the assistant general manager in Hamilton when Powell was signed by the Tiger-Cats.

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. As of February 10 at noon EST, players can officially sign free-agent contracts and change teams.

Powell was 3DownNation’s No. 15-ranked pending CFL free agent.

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.