Hamilton Tiger-Cats trade with Edmonton to shore up offensive line

Seasoned right tackle Colin Kelly is on his way to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, whose Canadian starter at that key offensive-line position went down in the team’s last CFL game.

The Tiger-Cats announced Monday that they have swung at deal with the Edmonton Elks for Kelly in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2023 draft. The 32-year-old Kelly started in the first two games of the season for Edmonton but was on the one-game injured list last week. The seventh-year veteran, who is from Longview, Wash., had posted on Instagram over the weekend that he was bound for Hamilton.

Hamilton (0-3) hosts Edmonton (also 0-3) in at Tim Hortons Field on July 1.

Last Friday, veteran Tiger-Cats right tackle Chris Van Zeyl was injured during a 26-12 defeat against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Van Zeyl, 38, left the field with the aid of the training staff and did not return to the game.

The Tiger-Cats slid Travis Vornkahl to right tackle and plugged in Andrew Pickett for the rest of the night. The team was already without left guard Brandon Revenberg, who was named the East Division’s top offensive lineman last season. Revenberg was on the one-game injured list, meaning he can return this week.

The six-foot-five, 298-pound Kelly had been with Edmonton since 2017, although he missed all of last season with a torn pectoral muscle. He entered the CFL with the Ottawa Redblacks and helped them reach the Grey Cup in 2015, before requesting his release in order to join the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League, where he spent one season. He has also had NFL time with Kansas City in 2013-14.