Fajardo excited to continue his football story with Elks
Published
Edmonton Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo has another speech or two left in him.
The 33-year-old pivot out of Nevada, who the team acquired to back up Tre Ford but has since taken over the starter’s role, is famously known for his “F*ck you just watch” speech ahead of the Montreal Alouettes’ run to the 2023 Grey Cup title–a night he was named the game’s Most Outstanding Player.
For Fajardo, the months since that confetti-strewn night in Hamilton have showcased the ruthlessness of the business side of the Canadian game.
In the midst of the team’s 18-1 stretch –the best in league history– Fajardo was injured and promptly replaced by the younger Davis Alexander. After Montreal reached the East Final in 2024, the Als decided to move on from Fajardo, dealing him to Edmonton for fellow veteran signal-caller McLeod Bethel-Thompson.
“I just learned that professional sports is not for the faint of heart,” Fajardo said this week ahead of the team’s clash with the Toronto Argonauts on Friday night.
“There’s things that happen that are out of your control and you just show up everyday to work with a smile. For me going into this year with Edmonton, I just kept telling myself, ‘Well, if I get my opportunity, I’ve got some people to prove wrong and there’s some people I want to prove right.’
“I was just excited about the opportunity of being with another franchise and that wasn’t the end of the Cody Fajardo football story.”
He’s since been rejuvenated in Edmonton, throwing for six touchdowns and one interception while leading the Elks to a last-minute win over his ex-Alouettes teammates in Week 10.
Fajardo said that it was a blessing in disguise to not be the starter with a new team going into training camp. It allowed him more time to absorb offensive coordinator Jordan Maksymic’s playbook, and adjust to his new surroundings, while picking Ford’s brain.
“Starting the season watching and learning is something I really haven’t had a chance to do in the last seven years,” he said.
“Usually it’s, ‘You’re the Week 1 starter. Go sink or swim.’…I had some time to sink my teeth into the playbook, understand Maksymic’s offence, understand the guys on the team and how they operate.”
The toughest part for Fajardo early on were the limited reps with a first-team receiving corps that included former Montreal teammate Kaion Julien-Grant (who caught that game-winning score at their old haunt), Kurleigh Gittens, Jr., and Steven Dunbar, Jr.
“I didn’t take an actual live-game rep with any of the one receivers until the second BC game [Week 6] when I got thrown in in the fourth quarter,” he said, pointing out that he and Ford have a very healthy relationship.
“Just the timing and understanding what routes they like and how I throw the ball, which I think I throw it differently to how Tre throws it, there was a lot of learning curve for both sides. Myself and just the offensive line and how I call snap cadence, how I call the play in the huddle. There’s some things you just don’t get reps on until you’re actually getting reps. That was the hardest thing, I think, about the transition.”
Julien-Grant has seen his quarterback go from folk hero in Montreal, to roster business decision, to afterthought in Edmonton to, now, the starter for a team that looks to be rounding the corner. While they’re 1-2 with Fajardo under centre, the two losses have been by a combined seven points.
“Consistency and composure and knowing that we’re going to finish the game strong,” Julien-Grant said of Fajardo’s short but memorable stint in Montreal.
He called his pivot a “low-key kid” for his sense of humor.
“It keeps the atmosphere light, but it’s still serious,” Julien-Grant said. “When you need to lock in, you need to lock in.”
Julien-Grant has also been Fajardo’s chauffeur in Edmonton, shuttling him to and from practice.
“I tell him that the more rides he takes with me, the more targets he gets,” Fajardo said with a laugh.
“What really helped me with the transition was having a guy like Kaion, somebody I've played a lot of football games with…at least there was one guy that I had a lot of confidence in. We were kind of able to pick up where we left off in Montreal.”
Fajardo said that he can be more vocal now that he’s the starter. He didn’t want to speak up as much when he was Ford’s backup, but much can change in a month in the Canadian Football League.
Fajardo can now author another galvanizing moment for a club with a chip on its shoulder and hope that history repeats itself.
“We’ll see,” he said.
“Maybe we make a run here and find ourselves in the playoffs. Maybe I can stir up one of those motivating speeches that everybody wants to talk about.