Hamilton Tiger-Cats snap up seasoned centre in swap with Elks
Published September 2, 2022 at 10:44 am
Veteran Canadian interior offensive lineman David Beard is on his way to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who parted with local product and former No. 2 overall choice Jesse Gibbon in the deal with the Edmonton Elks.
The Tiger-Cats announced Friday that they have acquired the 6-foot-5, 320-pound Beard and a conditional 2023 fourth-round draft pick in exchange for Gibbon, a fellow national O-lineman, as well as a second-round draft pick next season.
It is the second time that the Tiger-Cats have acquired a lineman from Edmonton this season. Right tackle Colin Kelly came in via a trade in June.
This latest airlift from northern Alberta comes while the Tiger-Cats are dealing with multiple-week injuries to centre Alex Fontana and right tackle Chris Van Zeyl. The 29-year-old Beard has made 10 starts at centre this season in Edmonton.
The Sherwood Park, Alta. native was also unanimously voted the team’s most outstanding offensive lineman in 2019. Overall, he has played in 94 games across seven seasons in Edmonton since debuting in 2015.
The deal also comes just ahead of Hamilton (3-8) taking on the Toronto Argonauts (5-5) in a CFL Labour Day Classic at Tim Hortons Field on Monday (Sept. 5, 1 p.m.). The Ticats have announced a sellout for the game, which is the fourth and final regular-season meeting between the QEW rivals.
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Hometowner Gibbon moving on
The 25-year-old Gibbon started the first four games this season, once at right guard and thrice at centre before Fontana got healthy. For the last eight games, Gibbons had been the utility O-lineman. Since being drafted No. 2 overall in 2019, he had played in 43 games for his hometown club, including seven starts.
The Elks (3-8) have the same record as Hamilton, but are six points adrift of the last West Division playoff spot. Edmonton head coach and general manager Chris Jones may not be far from using the final games as a evaluative tool as part of the team’s rebuild.
The move west potentially reunites Gibbon with his former quarterback from his Ontario University Athletics days. Gibbon’s time with the Waterloo Warriors overlapped with that of Elks rookie QB Tre Ford, a Niagara Falls native.
Ford is on the six-game injured list and hasn’t appeared in a game since July 7. His most sustained appearance of this season came in Hamilton the week prior. On July 1, Ford helped the Elks defeat the Tiger-Cats in his first CFL start.
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