Malik Carney didn’t want to leave Saskatchewan Roughriders

Photo courtesy: Edmonton Elks.

Malik Carney appreciated Roughriders’ head coach and defensive coordinator Corey Mace for bringing him to Saskatchewan in 2024 and he didn’t want to leave Regina in CFL free agency.

“They made it tough for me not to look at other options. I felt like it would have been a disservice to myself if I didn’t. I did what I felt like was best for me and that opportunity at that moment,” Carney said during Grey Cup media day on Thursday.

“About time things came around to negotiations, it wasn’t meeting what other teams were talking. I made a decision based off roster, coaching staff, and players. It was a combination of lack of communication, also the lack of pursuing. I did a lot; I felt like I was a big part of that defence. How everything went down, it didn’t unfold how I initially thought it would.”

The 31-year-old did his homework during the process while choosing between two other interested teams; he watched film, which helped him decide signing in Edmonton was the best choice. His daughter confirmed the decision by picking the double E logo over the other franchise when two were placed in front of her.

“They started to catch fire late in that ‘25 season, if you guys remember. Made a quarterback change. I was watching their defensive line; they got guys over there. There was a couple things that you could tell that they were missing,” Carney said.

“The fact that they pursued me so aggressively; I knew that I can come over there and make a change. Based on the coaching staff with J.C. [Sherritt], he was with me in ‘24. I knew what type of guy he was, what I was getting into, so that made me a lot more comfortable.”

While watching Edmonton tape, Jared Brinkman stood out the most. He was a run stopper, pushed the pocket in the middle, and took on double teams, according to Carney. That drew No. 2 to want to play alongside him. Jordan Williams had similar traits. The 2025 Grey Cup champion believed Noah Taylor was electric and fast off the edge. The six-foot-three, 230-pound defensive lineman thought he could complement the group.

“I don’t play for stats, I play for bodies. We don’t play for stats, we play for bodies. If you watch the film, you’ll see how we play. We’re a physical group; we play violent, we’re relentless in everything that we do. We pursue the ball as a unit. We do a lot of group tackling. That’s what we are,” Carney said.

Business played a major role in his decision to move to the Alberta capital. Carney received a $150,000 signing bonus to ink his contract, which is worth $270,000 in hard money for both 2026 and 2027. That totals $540,000 in hard money over the two-year term. General manager Ed Hervey made him the highest-paid American defensive player in the CFL’s salary cap era.

That was money well spent, as Carney helped the Elks go from worst to first in the West Division and return to the Grey Cup for the first time since 2015.