Canadian Football League comes calling for Joey Elliott

Joey Elliott has been spending the summer living out of a suitcase, racking up frequent-flyer miles and waiting for his cell phone to provide another job offer.

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The call he’d been waiting for finally came on Sunday from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. He’s now the team’s third-string quarterback.

“I’ve got to learn the offense as quick as I can,” Elliott said Tuesday night. “I’ve been here since Monday, late night. I came in this morning, signed some paperwork and went to practice.

“There’s a lot to learn, but I’m excited to be here. I’m reading the playbook now.”

When starting quarterback Buck Pierce suffered a knee injury last weekend, Elliott was at the top of the Bombers’ list of prospects. The former Harrison High School and Purdue University quarterback had known of the interest from Winnipeg and a couple of other CFL teams since June 10 when he was released by the Philadelphia Eagles. In fact, if he hadn’t taken that chance with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent, he might have been on a CFL roster when the season began last month.

But the important thing now is that another opportunity came his way, reassuring him that professional scouts haven’t forgotten about him since he only started one season at Purdue.

Now it’s up to Elliott to give NFL scouts a reason to keep tabs on him for the future.

“I figured instead of waiting around to be put on a practice squad with an NFL team, I might as well go play, get some more film,” said Elliott. “Hopefully, it will kick-start my NFL career later.”

Because of that dream of playing in the NFL, he did seek the advice of his agent, Eugene Parker, before agreeing to what could be just a short-term deal with the Bombers. Elliott had spent the previous week working out in San Diego with Drew Brees, absorbing NFL wisdom from the New Orleans Saints star and reigning Super Bowl champion QB. He had hoped that might open another NFL door later this summer, but the harsh reality is that his phone had yet to ring with another guaranteed NFL paycheck.

And while CFL checks aren’t as big — the league minimum is $30,000 and the league salary cap for each of the eight teams is $4.2 million — Elliott will be happy if this opportunity just pays off in professional experience.

It’s why he is eager to make the adjustment to the CFL game, which plays with 12 players on a field that is 110 yards long and 65 yards wide and quarterbacks only have three downs in which to move the chains.

“There are some different rules,” said Elliott. “The no-contact penalty after five yards, they don’t have that rule, so the (defensive back) can engage the receiver a little earlier But sometimes your receiver is going to win, and when you win it’s going to be big. There are a lot of big plays to be made and a lot of points to be scored.

“You are throwing to a lot of windows for the receiver to get there. You’ve got to use your feet to keep the play alive a little longer because they have a lot of plays going downfield trying to stretch the defense because the defense has 12 guys.”

Elliott’s mobility is one reason Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice and offensive coordinator Jamie Barresi were willing to give Elliott a shot.

How long he remains in Winnipeg depends on how Elliott performs over the next few weeks. With Pierce out for two to four weeks with a sprained knee, Elliott will be listed on the depth chart behind Steven Jyles, who played in college at Louisiana-Monroe, and Alex Brink, a former Washington State quarterback.

That means Elliott’s only guaranteed snaps may come in practice. And once Pierce returns, one of the quarterbacks likely will be released.

“They will have had a chance to evaluate me and decide who is going to stay or not going to stay by then,” said Elliott. “I’m just here to try to get better. They had been looking at me for quite some time since college was over.”

Speaking of those college ties, there was one familiar face to greet Elliott when he arrived on Tuesday. One of the Bombers’ starting offensive tackles is Kelly Butler, another former Boilermaker.

“He played at Purdue when I was a recruit. I met him coming out of high school, so it’s good to have another Purdue player up here with me,” said Elliott. “He congratulated me on signing with Winnipeg and was very happy for me to be here.”

For now, so is Elliott.

“It’s a good opportunity to make some money, travel all over, move up north, and it’s still football.”