Veteran defensive lineman Shawn Lemon among 16 players released by the Edmonton Elks

EDMONTON — Veteran CFL players Shawn Lemon, Thaddeus Coleman, Vontae Diggs and Kenny Shaw were among the Edmonton Elks’ final cuts Thursday.

Edmonton made its final roster decisions ahead of the CFL’s deadline of 10 p.m. ET on Friday.

The final roster moves come after receiver Kenny Stafford and linebacker Kevin Brown II, also CFL veterans, were let go earlier.

Lemon signed a one-year contract with Edmonton in February. The six-foot-two, 248-pound defensive lineman has played nine CFL seasons, registering 70 career sacks and 22 forced fumbles over 107 regular-season games.

Lemon is a two-time Grey Cup champion with Calgary (2014) and Toronto (2017).

The six-foot-two, 230-pound Diggs, a linebacker, was Edmonton’s outstanding rookie nominee in 2019 after recording 73 tackles, 11 special-teams tackles, one interception and two sacks.

The six-foot-seven, 320-pound Coleman was in his second stint with Edmonton. The towering offensive lineman had played for the franchise from 2013-16 before joining the Saskatchewan Roughriders (2016-19).

Shaw had spent time with Toronto (2015-16), Ottawa (2017) and Saskatchewan (2018). The receiver registered 94 catches for 1,223 yards and five TDs in 25 career CFL regular-season games.

Edmonton opens the 2021 CFL season hosting the Ottawa Redblacks on Aug. 7

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2021.

The Canadian Press