Khalil Tate signs with CFL’s Edmonton Elks

Khalil Tate is taking his talents north.

The former standout Arizona duel-threat quarterback has signed with the Canadian Football League’s Edmonton Elks.

The Elks plan to use Tate at quarterback, according to the team website and Tate’s announcement tweet.

Tate’s move to the CFL is unsurprising as the 23-year old tries to revitalize his pro football career after failing to make an NFL roster coming out of Arizona.

Tate signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in April 2020 as an unrestricted free agent and again in January 2021 on a reserves/futures contract. The Eagles unsuccessfully tried to covert Tate to a wide receiver before being waived both times.

Tate threw for 6,318 passing yards and 57 touchdowns over four years at UA and ran for 2,285 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns.

The Inglewood, Calif. native has a wide presence on social media, where he often tweets about on and off-field developments surrounding Arizona football.

Tate joins Edmonton more than four months ahead of the Elks’ 2022 preseason opener, slated for May 27 at Winnipeg. The Elks had the worst record in the CFL last year, finishing 3-11.

Edmonton is a traditionally proud organization, having won the CFL’s Grey Cup 14 times, most recently in 2015.

Edmonton returns quarterback Taylor Cornelius, an Oklahoma State grad, who threw for 1,795 yards and nine touchdowns last season. Former Oregon quarterback Dakota Prukop is also on the Elms roster and played sparingly in 2021.

The minimum CFL salary in 2021 for American and National (Canadian) players was $65,000, so Tate stands to earn a pretty good living doing what he does this spring and summer.