January 8, 2021

Welcoming Back Walker: Edmonton brings back star WR

Geoff Robins/CFL.ca

EDMONTON — Almost a year after he became one of the CFL’s most sought-after free agent, receiver Derel Walker has elected to return to Edmonton.

The four-time division all-star signed back in Edmonton after notoriously hitting free agency in February of 2020 and failing to come to terms with any teams ahead of what would have been a cancelled season due to the pandemic.

In 2019, Walker signed with the Toronto Argonauts in free agency where he was named an East Division All-Star in his lone season in Toronto. He would finish the season with 1,040 yards and six majors while finishing 11th in the league in receiving.

 

Walker returns for his third stint with the Edmonton Football team. after joining as a free agent in 2015. The Texas A&M product would play 12 games that season, recording 89 receptions (an Edmonton rookie record), 1110 receiving yards, and six touchdowns. He would cap the season off by capturing the 103rd Grey Cup, the CFL Rookie of the Year honours, and a CFL all-star nod.

Walker built upon his rookie success in his second season in Green and Gold. He led the league in both receptions (109) and receiving yards (1589), adding 10 touchdowns. He was named both a West Division and CFL all-star for the second consecutive year. Walker’s performance garnered NFL interest in the off-season, signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was released at the end of NFL training camps and returned to the EE Football Team for the remainder of the 2017 season. In abbreviated action, Walker would finish the season with eight games played, 48 receptions, 634 yards, and two touchdowns.

In 2018, Walker would start 11 games before an injury in the Labour Day Classic against the Calgary Stampeders sidelined him for the remainder of the season. He finished the year with 51 receptions, 875 yards, and 8 touchdowns. Despite only playing in 11 games, he was named a West Division all-star for the third time in his career.

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