Canadian cornerback Tyrell Ford fielded offers from multiple NFL teams this offseason but turned them down to stay in the CFL.
“There was a couple of teams that offered, but none of them were offering guaranteed money or a signing bonus,” Ford told 3DownNation. “Do I want to miss out on another year? Take that chance when I can come back to the CFL, it’s a good thing, it’s a household name and it’s good football. It’s honestly more exciting because it’s three downs. I feel like I’m more involved here anyways.”
The 27-year-old was highly sought after following an All-CFL season in which he recorded 51 defensive tackles, four special teams tackles, and seven interceptions for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. That led to workouts with the New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, and Buffalo Bills during the three-down league’s NFL window. Both the Saints and Colts presented him with contract offers, with the latter showing the most interest.
However, Ford already had a feel for the NFL experience after his training camp stint with the Green Bay Packers in 2023 and neither situation felt stable enough to delay a payday north of the border. The Niagara Falls, Ont. native reset the CFL defensive back market in free agency, signing a two-year contract with the Edmonton Elks worth $230,000 in hard money for the 2025 season. By comparison, the highest-paid defensive back in the league in 2024 made $165,000.
Ford had long been linked to the Elks due to his identical twin brother, Tre, being the team’s franchise quarterback. However, Edmonton weren’t the only suitor for his services and ultimately won out.
“It was Winnipeg, Hamilton, Calgary, and then Edmonton. Ultimately, Tre was in Edmonton, so that played a big factor. And they offered the most, so it was an easy decision,” he said.
“With football, you can’t play it forever and so you do what you can to set yourself up for the future. If a team would have come out with a crazy offer like $280K or even $250K, I probably would have went there instead. But none of the teams got to that point and so it is what it is.”
The Elks paid a premium to reunite the brothers and add a ratio-breaker in the secondary. The former second-round pick was the first Canadian to earn league all-star honours at cornerback since Wayne Shaw in 2001 and did so in his first season as a full-time starter. Ford’s 4.42 speed will play a pivotal role in shoring up a Green and Gold defence that finished dead last in both total yards and passing yards allowed last season.
While Edmonton improved to 7-11 in 2024, Tyrell knows all too well about the franchise’s recent struggles from having watched Tre. The Elks haven’t made the playoffs since 2019 but the Ford twins have a well-established track record with regard to changing teams’ fortunes when playing together.
“Our high school team before we got there didn’t win for two years. We turned that whole program around, won four championships in five years. I think it was kind of the same thing at Waterloo. Going in our team didn’t win for two years, went there and didn’t turn it around as great, but we made it to the playoffs three or four times. It was better,” Ford recalled. “Now, you go to Edmonton and it’s kind of the same situation. Hopefully, it’s the same result where we turn it around and get everything going.”
The Elks open the 2025 regular season by visiting the B.C. Lions at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver on Saturday, June 7 with kickoff slated for 10:00 p.m. EDT.
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