CALGARY — As his time with the B.C. Lions appeared to be coming to an end, Vernon Adams Jr. was talking about his CFL future with Calgary cornerback Demario Houston.
“We were just talking scenarios and things like that. And I told him, I was like, ‘Hey, I would love to come over there and be a piece to the puzzle and help us get back to where we need to be.’”
Moments later, Adams got his wish as the Stampeders acquired the veteran quarterback in a trade with the Lions on Tuesday.
“It all happened so fast, man,” Adams said.
“I’m just so happy and thankful just to be part of a great organization,” he added on a video conference call from Phoenix on Wednesday morning, a day before spending Thanksgiving with his family.
Adams said he was excited about working with Dave Dickenson and spoke to Calgary's coach and general manager shortly after he found out about the trade.
“I’ve always wanted play for Dave. I’ve known him since I was in college," Adams said. "He came and spoke to us at Eastern Washington one season, and I have so much respect for him.”
Calgary acquired Adams from B.C. along with a fourth-round selection (32nd overall) in the 2025 CFL draft and a third-round pick in 2026. In return, the Lions received Calgary’s second- and fourth-round picks (ninth and 29th overall) in 2025 and its second-round pick in 2026.
Over his eight seasons in the CFL with B.C., Montreal and Saskatchewan, Adams has posted a 38-22 record.
The 31-year-old quarterback from Pasadena, Calif., is now hoping to build upon this past season when he compiled a 6-3 record for the Lions (9-9) and completed 197 of 302 passes for 2,929 yards and 16 touchdowns.
“Yeah … it’s going to be super cool, man,” said Adams, who’s eagerly anticipating playing at McMahon Stadium next season. “I know those fans are very passionate in Cowtown, and they’re used to winning football. And I’m a winner. I’ve always been a winner.
“I’m not the whole team or anything like that, but I’m going to bring my all, work my butt off every single day and do everything I can to get that win, no matter what it is. And so I’m excited to play in front of those fans, getting in the red and white again, like I was at Eastern Washington. And yeah, I’m probably going to talk to (defensive back Branden) Dozier about that No. 3, so we’ll see.”
Adams is also excited about reuniting with Calgary quarterbacks coach Beau Baldwin, who was his bench boss when he played for the Eastern Washington University Eagles.
“Give him a ton of credit,” said Adams, who benefited from having the likes of current NFLers Cooper Kupp and Kendrick Bourne as his receivers with the Eagles. “When I came to Eastern Washington, I was a raw, just super raw young QB, just more athletic, just doing it with my legs. And he really taught me to sit in that pocket and go through my progression reads and how to read different things.
“He made the offence so simple for me to where the point I can play fast and get these guys the ball and let them do the rest.”
Baldwin is also in Phoenix this week and made plans to reunite with his star college QB.
“I’m about to get on the field after this interview and meet up with coach Baldwin and talk to him for a bit,” Adams said. “I’m excited.”
Following a great start to this past season for the Lions, Adams wound up sustaining a knee injury in an Aug. 1 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
A couple weeks later, the Lions signed quarterback Nathan Rourke, the CFL’s most outstanding Canadian award winner with the Lions in 2022. Despite Rourke's struggles, B.C. him as starter when Adams recovered from his injury.
Adams returned to start the Lions’ final game of the season, a win over the Montreal Alouettes, as well as B.C.'s loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the West Division semifinal.
Nonetheless, the Lions decided to move on with Rourke under centre, which paved the way for incoming Lions GM Ryan Rigmaiden to trade Adams to Calgary.
“It’s no hard feelings or anything,” Adams said. “It’s professional sports. It’s a business.
“You just have to keep going. And obviously, I’m going to have a little chip on my shoulder when I play those guys and things like that, but it’s all part of the business."
Adams, who says he prefers to watch CFL games over NFL contests, noted that the Stampeders were competitive last season despite finishing with a 5-12-1 record.
“They weren’t losing games by a lot of points all the time,” he said. “It was real close games. So that means they’re that close to getting over that hump. So I’m just hoping I can come in and be a little piece of that and help us get over that hump.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2024.
Laurence Heinen, The Canadian Press