The Edmonton Eskimos announced two more signings on Thursday, adding another quarterback in Antonio Pipkin and welcoming defensive back Jermaine Gabriel.
In 2019, Pipkin opened the year as the starting quarterback for the Montreal Alouettes.
He suffered a knee injury in week one, playing against the Eskimos on The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium. That opened the door for Vernon Adams Jr. to take over, and he ran with it.
After spending most most of last season on the injured list or as a back up, Pipkin was released by the Alouettes in January. On Thursday, he signed with the Eskimos as a free agent.
Pipkin stands 6-3, is 225 pounds, and — at the age of 24 — has already been in the CFL for three seasons.
The Gary, Indiana native played in 27 CFL games with Montreal, completing 99 of 182 passes for 1,295 yards, four TDs and eight interceptions. He has rushed the ball for 318 yards.
A graduate of Tiffin University in Ohio, Pipkin played four years in college, throwing for almost 11,000 yards and running for over 2,000 yards.. He threw 88 touchdown passes and scored 25 touchdowns on the ground.
Pipkin joins starter Trevor Harris and last year’s back-ups Logan Kilgore, Troy Williams and Jeremiah Briscoe in the Eskimos quarterback room.
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The signing of Jermaine Gabriel was also announced Thursday.
The 5-10, 202-pound defensive back was drafted in 2013 by the Toronto Argonauts and spent all of his seven-year career with the team, including a Grey Cup Championship in 2017.
In 95 games, Gabriel recorded 239 defensive tackles, 37 special teams tackles, seven quarterback sacks, two interceptions and four forced fumbles.
–With files from Kirby Bourne, 630 CHED