The CFL has given 'no clarification' on Kelly's return date; Ford to start for Elks

TSN Football Insiders Dave Naylor and Farhan Lalji discuss the Elks decision to start quarterback Tre Ford, the CFL not giving any clarification about Chad Kelly's reinstatement, and the league pushing back Shawn Lemon's arbitration hearing until Friday.

Naylor: This week, a lot of Edmonton Elks fans got their wish. Jarious Jackson, the interim head coach, has named Tre Ford as the starting quarterback for Saturday night’s game in Saskatchewan in place of McLeod Bethel-Thompson after Ford came off the bench Sunday and threw three touchdown passes late in their blowout loss to Hamilton. What is the Elks’ plan for managing the quarterback situation from this point going forward?

Lalji: Well, as far as what you’re going to see on the field, I do believe that they’re going to pare down the playbook a little bit and try to give Tre less to think about. But also, take advantage of what he does best in terms of his dynamic athleticism. In addition, I don’t believe a timeline has been put on how long Tre Ford will be the starter on Edmonton. I think there is an understanding that, look, he will play this game from start to finish. He doesn’t need to look over his shoulder if he has a couple of bad series or a bad half. And I think there’s also an understanding that the next game is a home game. And to your point, the fans want to see this guy play. But then I think after those two games, it’s really going to come down to how well Tre does play. As long as he keeps playing well, I think they’re going to run with him. But if he all of a sudden after a few games down the road struggles, there is the option they could go back to McLeod Bethel-Thompson. But no definitive timeline at this point. I think the hope is that he just plays well and they can carry this out for the rest of the season.

Naylor: More quarterback talk… of course Chad Kelly was handed a minimum nine-game suspension back at the start of the season. The Argos play their 10th game on Aug. 22. Of course, there is a bye week between now and then, so there’s only two weeks of practice time left if Kelly is going to return by that time, and no clarification from the league or the Argos about that still. Now, it is our understanding that Kelly has completed the courses and assignments he was asked to do by the league and has had a reassessment. But there is a process to go through here and all we know for sure is that the Argos are not going to make this decision when Chad Kelly returns to practice, which would be within their right at any time, without the communication of the league. That the two are working lock-and-step on this one. They want to get this right. They understand the sensitive nature of it. And when the league and the Argos agree he can return to practice, they will. But if he’s going to make it back in time for that 10th game, we would expect that to happen relatively soon. But neither side willing to say when that will be.

Lalji: As for another player dealing with a suspension, Shawn Lemon of the Alouettes, his arbitration hearing has been pushed back 24 hours until Friday at the league’s request. Now, my understanding is that Lemon’s side presented a large number of affidavits from players and staff members around the league, and as a result, the league needed additional time to respond.