WAITING GAME
Walker finally rejoins Elks
It's not the first time Derel Walker had to wait to get on the field in Edmonton.
Before going on to finish with 1,110 yards and six touchdowns on 89 catches in 12 games during his rookie CFL season, the Texas A&M product — who spent his college career hauling in passes from Johnny Manziel — spent the previous six games on Edmonton's practice roster.
At the time, of course, his coaches didn't realize they were sitting on the league's 2015 most outstanding rookie, who played no small role in helping the team hoist the Grey Cup in his introductory season.
His five-year pro career saw him earn all-star honours in each of the four full seasons he played north of the border, while also garnering NFL interest in 2017 from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
You'd think with that kind of resume, Walker's days of being sidelined on a CFL field were well behind him.
But when family matters forced him to report late for Edmonton Elks training camp, he found himself back on the shelf to serve a league-mandated one-week quarantine.
On Monday, after serving his time in isolation, he took to the field with his fellow campers.
“Honestly, it really was well needed. I'd been in a hotel room so it was great just to get around the football operations of things,” said the 30-year-old native of Hillsboro, Texas. “Actually being able to be a part of it instead of being in a hotel room learning the playbook on my own, it was great. I got to run around a little bit today, get to see where I'm at, what shape I'm in and what I need to improve on.”
While he may have a little catching up to do being a week behind, Walker has proven himself a quick study, and can rest easy in the fact he's made himself a highly valuable and well-known commodity in the CFL.
“Who? No. 87?” joked head coach Jaime Elizondo. “First of all, it starts with who he is as a person. A great personality.
He's been in tune with all the meetings, so right off the bat just having him on the field, he's a phenomenal player and really good person. So, he's been really in tune asking a lot of questions. It felt great to have him back.
“You've been in a hotel, there's only so much you can do. You haven't played football for a year and a half, so you factor those two things in and we're just going to be cautious on making sure that we ramp things up little by little. So, he got some indie (individual drills) and some post-practice routes at 80 percent tempo.”
Walker bolsters an Elks receiving corps that already boasts returning members Greg Ellingson, Kenny Stafford, Tevaun Smith and Shai Ross, but needs to replace the likes of Ricky Collins Jr., Davaris Daniels and Natey Adjei, three of Edmonton's top-five receivers last time out.
After spending the 2019 season with the Toronto Argonauts, Walker has returned to the city where it all began with a big splash ahead of free agency in February.
Even if he's wearing a new logo and calling Edmonton's team by a new name.
“A lot of differences and a lot of different nuances, a lot of different teammates, there's a lot of guys over here from Toronto,” Walker said. “A few guys still here from when I played here previously, it's just amazing right now to be back, especially after all the things that everyone had to overcome this past year-plus.”
Make that a year-plus, plus one week.
“It honestly felt a lot longer than one week, man,” Walker said. “I was just taking it one day at a time when I wasn't able to be at the stadium as much as I'd like, obviously. I'm just thankful that the week is over and I can get to playing some football.”