In a surprising blockbuster deal, the Toronto Argonauts are dealing away All-Star receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. and a 2024 seventh-round draft pick to Edmonton for defensive end Jake Ceresna and the rights to Marshall University standout running back Khalan Laborn.
At first blush, the Argos trading away one of its best homegrown players in Gittens is a curious decision. Perhaps in time, however, the deal will make more sense.
The deal, as first reported by Justin Dunk at 3 Down Nation, doesn't appear to be for salary cap purposes.
Gittens, 26, who was a third-round selection out of Wilfred Laurier, signed a three-year deal last offseason at an average of $208,000 a year with a large guarantee in the final year of his contract.
Ceresna signed a two-year extension last offseason with Edmonton, which made him one of Canada's highest-paid interior defensive linemen. He'll earn $212,000 in 2024 and will be a free agent in 2025.
The deal appears to be more about each team reshuffling the deck for what's to come in free agency, especially for Toronto.
The Elks are getting one of the league's best young Canadian receivers. Gittens is coming off an injury-plagued 2023 season. He was spectacular in 2022, finishing with 81 receptions (fifth best in the CFL), 1,101 yards (sixth best), and five touchdowns. He led the CFL with 483 yards en route to his first CFL All-Star season.
The Ottawa native was Toronto's nominee for Most Outstanding Canadian for the second consecutive season and was the East Division nominee for the award in 2022 after leading all receivers in yards last season.
Gittens led the Double Blue in every major receiving category in 2022, had three 100-yard games, including a career-high 161 at Ottawa in September, and nine receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown in the Eastern Final win over Montreal.
Gittens gives Edmonton a young national star to pair up with former Argos quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson. Gittens' breakout season in Canada came with MBT throwing him passes.
Meanwhile, Ceresna gives the Argos an All-Star presence on their defensive front. Toronto recently announced the extension of star edge rusher Folarin Orimolade. The acquisition of Ceresna might be necessary, with three defensive lineman starters — Shawn Oakman, DeWayne Hendrix, and Brandon Barlow — potentially jumping ship when free agency starts in a month.
Earlier in the day, former Argos defensive coordinator Corey Mace officially announced his coaching staff with the reported departure of Toronto defensive backs coach Joshua Bell becoming official.
Pundits and experts have rightfully connected the dots with pending Argonauts defensive players likely to join Mace in Saskatchewan.
The soon to be 30-year old Ceresna played 18 games for the Elks in 2023 and recorded career-highs across the board with 48 defensive tackles, 12 sacks, and one forced fumble in 18 games while being named Edmonton's choice for Most Outstanding Defensive Player for the second consecutive season.
The 6-foot-5, 295-pound lineman spent the past three seasons in Edmonton after brief stints in 2019 with the New York Giants and was drafted by the DC Defenders of the XFL.
The Connecticut native came to the CFL in 2017 with Ottawa, after a short offseason stint with the New York Jets in 2016, before being traded to Edmonton in 2018. For his career, the State University of New York at Cortland alum has tallied 163 defensive tackles, 37 sacks, and six forced fumbles in 75 career CFL games and was named a CFL All-Star in 2022.
On paper, this is a win for Edmonton. A franchise that got a lot of flack for the deal that saw them swing and miss for journeyman quarterback Nick Arbuckle while trading away to Toronto the rights to eventual superstar quarterback Chad Kelly in 2021.
Getting a young Canadian superstar in his prime under contractual control is worth its weight in gold. The Elks improved their offense and helped with the transition for veteran Bethel-Thompson.
The Argos deal for Ceresna feels like a preemptive strike to avoid a depletion to their defensive line — more so than a deal to better the Boatmen.
Corey Mace's departure is already having ripple effects on the Argos for 2024.
You can find Mike Mitchell on X @ByMikeMitchell.
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