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London, Ontario-born quarterback Taylor Elgersma is getting comfortable with the Blue Bombers as he strives towards a successful CFL career – a goal unique for Canadian quarterbacks.
Taylor Elgersma finds himself in a unique position as one of only three Canadian quarterbacks in the CFL – and one of two to come from a Canadian university, with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ Tre Ford, who played at the University of Waterloo, being the other.
“Being able to be one of those guys representing Canadian U Sports at the quarterback position in the CFL is something that I take a lot of pride in,” said the 24-year-old Elgersma, who is in his debut season with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. “I am very thankful, and it’s just something, day by day, when I wake up, reminding myself how unique that opportunity is.”
It’s been a bit of a circuitous route – albeit a fast one – to get to the CFL for Elgersma, who was born and raised in London and called the city home until he left for university to play for the Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks.
Elgersma didn’t start playing football in high school until Grade 10 while attending Oakridge Secondary School. That’s not typical for players who reach the heights Elgersma has in his career so far, as most future pros start before high school – especially those who play the quarterback position.
Interestingly, Elgersma’s former coach at Laurier, Michael Faulds, has said that’s part of what makes the pivot’s drive so special – because he feels as though he’s always catching up.
Elgersma certainly caught up by the time he hit the ground running at Laurier in 2022, following a season as the team’s backup. In his first year as a starter, he threw for 2,141 yards, 15 passing touchdowns and one rushing score in 10 games, including the postseason, where the Golden Hawks ultimately lost to the Western Mustangs in an OUA semi-final.
The following year, Elgersma stepped things up. In 11 games, he exploded for 3,482 yards in the air, 25 passing touchdowns, and eight rushing scores, a huge improvement from his first season as a starter. This time, Laurier made it to the Yates Cup – although they once again were bested by the Mustangs.
And then Elgersma put them over the top. Not only did the Hawks best Western (51-31 in the Yates), they had a perfect OUA season, going 8-0 during the regular campaign and winning out in the postseason, eventually reaching the Vanier Cup against the Laval Rouge et Or, where they came up just short, 22–17.
Along the way, Elgersma produced 4,011 yards, 34 passing touchdowns, and six rushing scores in 12 games. He was named the Larry Haylor Award winner as OUA football MVP; he won the Hec Creighton Award as U Sports’ top football player; and he was named top male athlete in all of U Sports.
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Following the conclusion of the 2024 season, in which Elgersma delivered one of the greatest quarterback stretches U Sports has ever seen, he was invited to compete in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, an NCAA game for the top senior players in the United States. He was the only player to represent a Canadian school, and the first since 1992, when former Western Mustang receiver Tyrone Williams competed in the showcase game.
Elgersma did well, and received some recognition, but it wasn’t enough to hear his name called during the NFL draft, where he had been projected as a possible late-round pick. In Canada, though, he was drafted by the CFL’s Blue Bombers, 18th overall, which gave the team his rights as he pursued a career south of the border.
In the spring of 2025, following a successful rookie minicamp with the Green Bay Packers, Elgersma signed with the team and later played in three preseason games, completing 16 of 23 passes for 166 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. Unfortunately, he was later released as part of the Packers’ final cuts following training camp and preseason.
Even though he didn’t make the team, Elgersma still made history by becoming only the fourth Canadian university quarterback to sign a contract in the NFL – and the first in almost 40 years.
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As the door with the Packers closed, many others opened. He worked out with several other NFL teams, spent some time helping his alma mater as they pursued another OUA championship, and earlier this year was approached by the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL, which gave him another chance to play pro in the U.S.
“After Green Bay and all the workouts, I got a call from Birmingham, who said they were selecting me in the UFL draft,” the quarterback said.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as smoothly as Elgersma had hoped, as he had significant issues with his visa status.
“I think it was a unique situation, because we were playing a season and I was hoping to be playing and taking snaps, and the visa situation was holding that up,” he said.
Stallions head coach A.J. McCarron tried repeatedly to get the visa situation sorted, but the U.S. federal government shut down twice early in 2026, which made the process nearly impossible for Elgersma. By mid-April, the season was four weeks in, and he couldn’t play in games or be compensated, so Elgersma headed back home.
“I knew that I had a great opportunity here in Winnipeg to go to, so I was super excited about that,” he said. “This is an outstanding organization, so obviously I was excited to get over here and get to work with these guys.”
Winnipeg’s rookie camp started on May 6, and Elgersma wanted to be ready in time for the season, so signing when he did was crucial.
Since joining the Blue Bombers, Elgersma has been able to learn from starting quarterback Zach Collaros, who is a two-time winner of the Most Outstanding Player award and is regarded as one of the franchise’s best players of all time, having won back-to-back Grey Cups with the team in 2019 and 2021 (the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
“Seeing how Zach prepares has been awesome,” said Elgersma “Watching how quickly he works through his progressions, times his feet up with his eyes. As a young quarterback, that’s something that takes reps to do, but when you have a guy that does it every single day, it shortens that as you try and emulate it yourself.”
Although he’s yet to touch the field during regular-season action, he appeared in two pre-season games, completing 17 of 33 pass attempts. He didn’t throw for a touchdown and had two interceptions, but he had a rushing touchdown.
“It’s a step up, but that’s what you expect when you come to this level,” the quarterback said. “That’s what you’re excited about as an athlete and a player, that you get to make that jump and challenge yourself.”
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Elgersma has been spending a lot of time in meetings, training and even more meetings as he works to elevate his game to become a starter one day in the league. He also likes to stay later after some other players have left to keep learning schemes and how to get better.
“It’s pretty regimented, it prepares us well,” Elgersma said about non-gamedays.
With the past year being so hectic for Elgersma, he says he’s grounded himself in two ways.
First, through really making sure he loves the game and the process. Noting that football has lots of ups and downs, he says it’s important to be able to ride that wave to get to where he wants to go. If you have a ‘fake’ love for it, he says, those goals won’t be reached.
Secondly is his faith, which he’s deeply passionate about.
“My faith grounds me and keeps me focused on the next step and trusting the cross and the plan that the Lord has for my life,” he said. “I think those things are genuine. If you’re not faking, they can be impactful.”
With the path now clear for Elgersma, he’s only focused on getting better each day to earn his stripes and become a CFL star soon.
“It’s been a joy to be here,” the quarterback said, “and I’m excited to keep working and getting better.”
