Cody Fajardo: absence of Coulter Woodmansey will be ‘tough’ for Edmonton Elks

Photo: Gord Weber/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

The Edmonton Elks will be without Canadian offensive lineman Coulter Woodmansey for the foreseeable future, which the team’s starting quarterback considers to be a significant loss.

“Missing him on the field, that’s going to be tough,” Cody Fajardo told the media in Edmonton on Tuesday. “He had a tremendous game one. I think we counted five pancakes in that game, just a complete difference-maker for us offensively.

“We obviously paid to get him here, and rightfully so. Just what I saw from him throughout training camp and the leader that he is, the football knowledge that he has, he’s gonna do so much stuff for us behind closed doors even though he’s injured.”

The 28-year-old left the team’s Week 1 win over the Ottawa Redblacks and didn’t return due to a knee injury. He didn’t practice on Tuesday, as per the team’s official report, and is expected to be placed on the six-game injured list.

Woodmansey became the CFL’s highest-paid Canadian non-quarterback when he signed a three-year contract with the Elks in February. He was originally a first-round pick in the 2020 CFL Draft out of the University of Guelph and spent five seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

It remains unclear how Edmonton will replace the Toronto native at right guard, though it appears the team could slot-in an American blocker in his place.

“(Our solution is) not 100 percent yet, we’re still working through the options, but we have that flexibility on our roster, which is a good thing to have,” said head coach Mark Kilam.

“We said it at the start of the year, it’s going to take everyone in the room — anybody that makes the (practice roster) is part of the football team and expect to contribute this year, and if that’s this week, then that’s what it is.”

Justin Rankin was the standout for the Elks in their Week 1 win, as he rushed 13 times for 102 yards and one touchdown thanks in part to the performance of the offensive line. The unit also allowed only one sack.

“I was really pleased with the way our offensive line played in Week 1 and I hope we can continue that momentum,” said Fajardo, who threw for 266 yards and one touchdown in the victory. “We’re going to have some guys get an opportunity to step up.”

After being plagued by disastrous starts in recent years, Edmonton currently has a winning record for the first time since 2019. Kilam was pleased with the win but seems to be keeping things in perspective.

“I’ve been feeling (belief) on the inside the building for a while, but you’ve gotta get the outside results and we understand that, but (the win) was big for the franchise, it was big for the city, but it was just one game,” he said.

“It reaffirmed the things that we were doing in the offseason and everything though training camp to lead into Week 1, but we’ve had a bye, there’s been a reset. Now we’ve gotta come out and have a great week of practice to play a really good opponent on Saturday.”

The Edmonton Elks (1-0) will host the Montreal Alouettes (2-0) at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday, June 20 with kickoff scheduled for 4:00 p.m. EDT. The Alouettes are coming off an impressive win over the Toronto Argonauts, while the Elks spent Week 2 on bye.

The weather forecast in Edmonton calls for a high of 18 degrees and a 60 percent chance of showers. The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune in on TSN 690 (English) or 99.5 Montreal (French) in Montreal or 880 CHED in Edmonton.