Elks sign three including National RB Cimankinda

CFL.ca Staff

EDMONTON — The Edmonton Elks announced on Monday that the team has signed National running back Jean Paul Cimankinda, American defensive lineman Jordan Fletcher and American defensive back TJ Newell II.

A seventh round pick by the Elks in the 2022 CFL Draft, Cimankinda suited up in two preseason games for the Double E before being released in early June. The Ottawa, Ontario native returned to the Ottawa Gee Gees for the 2022 season, where he registered 159 carries for 976 yards and eight touchdowns. In 2022, he ranked second in U SPORTS with 122 rush yards per game and was named to the U SPORTS All-Canadian Second Team.

Fletcher played 32 games over four seasons of NCAA Division III football at Western Connecticut State, totalling 73 solo tackles with 36 assists, and 27.5 tackles-for-loss. The defensive lineman recorded 13 sacks, including 10 as a senior in 2019 and was named a MASAC (Massachusetts State Athletic Conference) Second Team All-Star. In 2021, Fletcher played in the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) for the London Beefeaters of the Ontario Football Conference (OFC), earning an All-Canadian selection, along with being named the OFC’s Outstanding Defensive Player and Outstanding Defensive Lineman.

Newell appeared in 23 games over three seasons of NCAA Division II football at the University of West Alabama, setting career highs with 31 solo tackles and five pass deflections in 2022. Prior to attending UWA, he played at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, where he switched to defensive back after beginning his junior college career as a wide receiver.

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