EDMONTON - Like many elite athletes, Kaion Julien-Grant鈥檚 post-game self assessments begin with the negatives before even considering his positive impacts.
The Edmonton Elks receiver rates himself first by missed assignments and what he could have done better to help the team.
鈥淭he negatives always resonate more, whether you win or not,鈥 he said as the Elks prepared to host the Toronto Arognauts on Friday. "You feel, I could have done this or done that, but you have to appreciate what you did do."
By those standards it鈥檚 been an emotional two weeks for the Toronto native who has 21 catches for 346 yards and five touchdowns in eight games.
The 29-year-old hauled in two touchdown passes last week. The second one came with 15 seconds left to give Edmonton a badly needed 23-22 win over the Montreal Alouettes.
One week earlier, Julien-Grant dropped a sure touchdown pass that would have given the Elks the lead with about 75 seconds left in a 28-24 loss to Hamilton.
鈥淚 was super down. I felt like I had let the team down and I let myself down, knowing the calibre of player I am and it was a routine catch,鈥 Julien-Grant said of the drop in the end zone against the Ticats.
鈥淭o bounce back and have the game on the line again 鈥 time was winding down and it came to me and I was able to finish,鈥 he said of the Montreal catch. 鈥淭he team really needed it, so it felt great.鈥
The Montreal win was the third straight Elks game decided by four points of less, two of them losses. Unfortunately for Edmonton, close isn鈥檛 good enough.
鈥淚t鈥檚 what we鈥檝e been saying all along,鈥 said Julien-Grant. 鈥淵ou can only be close for so long until you鈥檙e out of contention.鈥
Despite their 2-6 record, the win over Montreal keeps Edmonton in the CFL West's playoff picture with Winnipeg and British Columbia having only four wins apiece.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the nice thing, knowing that it is there,鈥 quarterback Cody Fajardo said of the playoff possibility. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 not our focus. We understand it, we鈥檙e aware of it, but our main focus is going 1-0 and stacking back-to-back wins.
鈥淟ast time we got a win we went on a bye and then didn鈥檛 come back the way we wanted to. We鈥檙e excited about this one and the opportunity to stack a win.鈥
The positivity after the Montreal win is 鈥渢hrough the roof鈥 said Fajardo, but getting a second straight victory is vital 鈥渁gainst a very good Toronto team.鈥
鈥淗ere鈥檚 what I will say about Toronto,鈥 he added. 鈥淭hey are a 2-7 ball club and we are a 2-6 club, both of us don鈥檛 believe we鈥檙e as bad as our records show. 鈥
While the Elks are looking for a second straight win to turn around their season, the Argos are coming off a tough loss to the Ottawa Redblacks, and eager for a win to remain in playoff contention in the East.
Fajardo figures the Argos want to get an early lead so the Elks will have a way to overcome their recent sluggish starts. Edmonton has been outscored 24-8 in the first quarter of the last two games.
鈥淲e have to find a way to start fast. Find a way to give ourselves a chance in the fourth quarter,鈥 said Fajardo, who will be starting his third straight game.
鈥淲e have to take all the experience we took from the Saskatchewan game and the Hamilton game and the Montreal game, on learning how to close out games, into this one.鈥
The Elks are without punter Cody Grace, out with a knee injury suffered in the Montreal game. Kicker Vincent Blanchard will handle punting as well as kickoffs. 聽
This report by 春色直播was first published Aug. 14, 2025.
