Mack enjoying career season with Edmonton Elks - BERITAJA

Reuniting pinch Cody Fajardo is paying immense dividends for Austin Mack.

Through 16 games successful his first play pinch the Edmonton Elks, Mack has established profession highs successful catches (79), yards (1,229) and touchdowns (eight). Mack past had numbers for illustration these successful his first CFL run pinch the Montreal Alouettes successful 2023 (78 receptions, 1,154 yards, 4 TDs).

The changeless successful some equations, though, is Fajardo. The seasoned backmost was pinch Montreal successful 2023, starring the squad to a Grey Cup title that season.

This year, Edmonton (12-4) will return to the CFL playoffs for the first clip since 2019. It will besides big its first post-season title since 2015.

If Edmonton could divided its remaining 2 regular-season games (Friday versus Winnipeg, astatine Saskatchewan connected Oct. 24), it will cement first successful the West and big the section last Nov. 7. The Elks downed Calgary 45-31 successful the 2015 West finale earlier beating Ottawa 26-20 successful the Grey Cup, their past CFL title.

The six-foot-one, 208-pound Mack spent his first 3 CFL seasons pinch Montreal and vanished his ’25 run playing successful the club’s 25-17 Grey Cup nonaccomplishment to Saskatchewan. He was released by the Alouettes connected Jan. 26 up of being owed a reported $45,000 roster bonus.

But, pinch Fajardo’s persistence, the 29-year-old Mack signed a two-year woody pinch Edmonton 3 days later.

“It’s funny because Cody ne'er calls anybody successful the off-season because he’s pinch his family,” Mack said. “But he called maine each azygous time until I signed.

“There was a batch that went into it … I wanted to make judge it was the correct fresh and was a determination maine and my family made together moreover though I had my feline shooting maine texts. I deliberation had I gone anyplace other our relationship would’ve about apt ended and it’s a bully point we didn’t person to spell down that road.”

Fajardo wasted nary clip contacting Mack aft learning he’d been released by Montreal.

“There was a logic why I called him 360 times to effort and get him here,” Fajardo said. “I conscionable cognize really bully he is and really bully he was for maine successful Montreal.

“Everything I thought he’d do present he has done and exceeded. I’m conscionable really happy he’s connected the greenish and golden pinch me.”

But Fajardo isn’t the only logic for Mack’s occurrence successful Edmonton. First and foremost, Mack has remained patient and been a bully fresh successful violative co-ordinator Jordan Maksymic’s scheme.

Edmonton earned a 27-12 roadworthy triumph successful Hamilton connected Friday to clinch a location playoff contest. It was the Elks’ 2nd consecutive triumph complete the Ticats (following a 37-35 double overtime determination Sept. 26) and sixth successful their past 7 games overall.

Finishing the regular play versus West rivals shouldn’t faze Edmonton, which is 6-2 wrong its division. The Elks are 1-1 versus Saskatchewan and person already won the play bid pinch Winnipeg (2-0).

Not bad for a squad that posted a 7-11 grounds past play to decorativeness 5th successful the West Division. But wide head Ed Hervey signed specified veterans arsenic protect lineman Robbie Smith, protect backmost Tyrell Ford and moving backmost Justin Rankin to extensions earlier getting Fajardo, 34, to put disconnected status successful December.

Then successful free agency, Hervey added specified veterans arsenic violative linemen Coulter Woodmansey, Brendan Bordner and Jordan Murray, receivers Mack, Brendan O’Leary-Orange and Joe Robustelli and protect lineman Malik Carney.

“This locker room has a batch of awesome guys who want to win, who want to sacrifice,” Mack said. “It’s a batch of squad guys and you request that successful this league.”

That’s not to downplay the effect of the Mack-Fajardo chemistry. But the biggest returns connected familiarity and clip together usually travel successful large games, particularly those successful Canada successful precocious October and November.

“Everyone says Canada is cold, and it could be, but the champion portion about playing shot successful the acold is you’re playing successful meaningful games,” Mack said. “One of the reasons why I wanted to travel to this squad was to lend to helping this offence beryllium much explosive and beryllium successful games and I judge that’s what I’ve done this year.

“We’ve still sewage to make judge we unafraid (a West last location berth) and that’s our biggest focus. If we could, that would beryllium astonishing and I’d dream we’d spot 60,000 group successful Commonwealth (for a section title game).”

This study by BERITAJA was first published Oct. 13, 2026.