Former Elks, Roughriders, Lions WR Arceneaux announces retirement

Wide receiver Emmanuel Arceneaux, who spent the last two seasons of a 14-year CFL career with the Edmonton Elks, announced his retirement on Tuesday.

Arceneaux, 36, caught 28 passes for 346 yards in 12 games with the Elks last season.

“I gave a lot to the game and the game was good to me,” Arceneaux said. “I created some memories and had one heck of a career. You know, at some point, you’ve got to take the cleats off and hang them up, and I just thought that the time was now.”

The Alexandria, Louisiana native made his CFL debut in 2009 with the BC Lions, when he caught 63 passes for 858 yards and seven touchdowns. 

The three-time CFL West Division All-Star played eight seasons with the Lions, including a break in 2011 to play with the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL.

His return to the CFL in 2013 marked the beginning of a dominant stretch, where he surpassed 800 yards in five straight seasons, including a historic 2016 campaign in which he caught 105 passes for 1,566 yards and 13 touchdowns. 

Arceneaux finishes his career ranked inside the top 20 all-time in receptions and top 30 all-time in receiving yards. He also concludes his playing career having collected a reception in his last 146 games in a row, the fourth longest streak in CFL history.

"To be top 20 (all-time), it means a lot. I don't think I've actually dwelled on it in the moment because I was in the game playing, but now looking back at it, the things that I've achieved, it was a very big deal," Arceneaux said. 

In 164 career CFL games with the Lions, Saskatchewan Roughriders and Elks, Arceneaux caught 645 passes for 9,277 yards and 58 touchdowns.