Edmonton Elks sign Global veteran Tyron Vrede after Riders release

Peter McCabe/CFL.ca

The Edmonton Elk have signed Global linebacker Tyron Vrede following his release by the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Thursday.

Vrede was originally signed by the Riders in free agency but had yet to dress for a game.

The six-foot, 230-pound defender spent the last five seasons with the Ottawa Redblacks, recording 41 defensive tackles, 35 special teams tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble.

The native of Amsterdam, Netherlands, was originally the tenth overall pick in the 2021 CFL Global Draft. He played collegiately at the University of North Dakota, where he made 55 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four sacks, and two pass deflections over 22 games.

Vrede is the third linebacker signed by the Elks this week following injuries to Nick Anderson and Brock Mogensen.

The Edmonton Elks (3-0) will visit the B.C. Lions (0-3) at the Apple Bowl in Kelowna on Saturday, July 4, with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The Elks are coming off a 23-18 come-from-behind win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, while the Lions lost the first of two games in the Okanagan against the Calgary Stampeders.

The weather forecast in Kelowna calls for a high of 26 degrees and a mix of sun and cloud. The game will be broadcast on TSN in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune in on 880 CHED in Edmonton or 730 CKNW (English) or Sher-E-Punjab Radio AM 600 (Punjabi) in B.C.