His game is in his name. He’s known as ‘Big-Play V.A.’
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And that has to bring a smile to the faces of Calgary Stampeders fans, knowing he’s suddenly now QB1 in The Stampede City.
If you don’t know enough about Vernon Adams Jr., here’s a playbook of what you’re getting after the veteran CFL quarterback introduced himself to Calgarians on Thursday morning at McMahon Stadium:
VERNON THE QB
Age: 31. Height: 5-foot-11. Weight: 200 lb.
CFL stats (including playoffs): 39-25 record; 64.4% pass completion; 17,367 passing yards; 1,788 rushing yards; 130 TDs; 63 INTs
Adams has been in the league eight years, growing from his stops early on with the Montreal Alouettes, the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for success as a front man in the CFL since 2019, when he put up 3,942 passing yards with 24 touchdowns against 13 interceptions with the Alouettes.
His 2023 campaign with the B.C. Lions was his best, as he rolled up 4,769 yards with 31 TDs and 18 INTs, along with 324 rushing yards.
“Big plays, excitement, energy, focus, leadership … just things like that, man,” said Adams, when asked to describe what he brings to the field. “I just want to be the best I can be. I know I can keep getting better each and every year, and I feel myself just getting better.
“So I just need to be healthy for all 18 games and really help this team out the best I can.”
What fans and the Stamps can be most excited about is his ability to extend plays with his legs.
After last week’s trade to bring Adams to the fold, GM/head coach Dave Dickenson said the team had not showcased a QB with Adams’ mobility since Henry Burris more than a dozen years ago.
“It’s there, but I’m no Lamar Jackson,” said Adams, who stands five-foot-11 at 200 lbs. “I’m not going to run like that, but I’m more of a scramble-to-find-guys-open quarterback. I think that’s where big plays come from, because DBs think, ‘OK, we only need to cover for three four seconds,’ and if I have that time to extend the play and find someone on a scramble drill, that can hurt defences. And I know defensive co-ordinators do not like that.”
But fans sure do.
Dickenson himself seems excited to put a much-needed touch of flash and dash back into the Red and White offence with Adams’ ability to run.
“It’s instinct for me,” continued Adams. “You know … if I feel (the pressure), I’ll get out (of the pocket). I am a passer first. I do want to sit in that pocket and go through my reads and get the guys involved. But if I need to do it, then I will run.”
Vernon the leader
With Adams, the Stamps aren’t just getting an upgrade at the pivot position.
They’re getting a bona fide leader, who has the ear of many players in the CFL.
“I would call myself a top recruiter in this league,” declared Adams with a big grin. “I think guys just gravitate towards my passion, my energy … just things like that … the way I am as a leader, a competitor, a winner …
“I’ve always been like that, and I’m just continue to be like that. And hopefully, I can get some good guys here.”
Despite trading away Adams in favour of younger QB talent Nathan Rourke, new Lions GM Ryan Rigmaiden praised Adams for his ability to help bring key players to the CFL’s West Coast squad. Last year’s 1,000-yard running back William Stanback, who followed Adams to Vancouver from Montreal, was among those recruits.
And that’s massive for the Stamps, as they’ve committed themselves to a rebuild following the 5-12-1 playoff miss of last season, announcing publicly the need to improve in all facets of the team this winter.
“You know … I’ll do my best to sit with Dave and the guys and see what their plans are free agency-wise,” Adams said. “I know a lot of players would love to come over here and help be a part of this thing we’ve got going.
“The team is good here — the system is good,” continued the QB. “You see (Toronto Argonauts head coach) Ryan Dinwiddie and (Saskatchewan Roughriders sideline boss) Corey Mace and their teams being successful, and that’s still a little bit of the Calgary on those teams.
“Now we just come here and we spice it up a little bit. We bring in a few more players and have the players we have here be all on the same page.
“And let’s get back on track.”
Vernon the competitor
The Stamps are getting back on track with not only the acquisition of Adams — made possible when the club sent three draft-picks over the next two years in exchange for the QB and the Lions’ fourth-round selection in 2025 and their third-round pick in 2026 — but also with the recent signing of fellow helmsman P.J. Walker.
It’s a move Adams embraces to help boost the new QB room in Calgary.
“I’m a huge fan of P.J.,” Adams said. “I’ve seen him in the XFL and playing those good games in the NFL, as well. So being a fan of him, I’m excited for him to come in here and learn some things from him. But then I can teach him some things about the CFL game, as well. So we’re going to push each other.
“I want guys coming in, pushing me and holding me accountable so I can be the best version of myself.
“I love pressure,” continued Adams, who got a big taste of it in his senior NCAA year with the nationally renowned Oregon Ducks. “Pressure is a privilege, and not everyone gets to take on that pressure. I’ll look it right in the face, and I’m like, ‘Let’s go!’ ”
Forever a player who’s had the CFL on his radar dating back to his record-breaking days with the NCAA’s Eastern Washington Eagles program — a three-down factory itself, considering Matt Nicholls, Bo Levi Mitchell and Eric Barriere have also come north from that school — Adams hasn’t shied away from learning how to become a better three-down quarterback.
He’s learned from some of the league’s best QBs over the years. Among those mentors were Kevin Glenn, Jeremiah Masoli and Darian Durant.
But the “most impactful” in “moulding” Adams was Trevor Harris.
“He sat me down in Montreal and said, ‘Hey, V.A., this is how we’ve got to do it as the leader — as the quarterback — of a franchise. This is how you’ve got to do it. This is how your routine has to be,’ ” Adams said. “He showed me his, and I made it my own.
“It was huge. Trevor was always so positive with me in giving me so much hope. I give him a lot of credit.
“Earlier in Montreal, I didn’t gameplan and study as much and have that good routine as I did when I got to B.C.,” continued Adams. “It was more just reacting and playing off my athletic ability. I think that’s why I got traded so much. Coaches saw the potential, but they didn’t see the work.”
Vernon the man
Now, he’s known as a QB who’s more prepared — a guy who spends more time honing his game.
Included in that preparation is hosting off-season mini-camps for the offence he’s running, which is now a Red and White thing.
“I started it in Montreal years ago” Adams said. “Usually I do it where I’m living — in Tacoma, Washington — where I fly receivers out in a couple of quarterbacks. Fly them in on like a Wednesday through Sunday, and we work Thursday, Friday, Saturday. And we also do just team-bonding activities — just getting to know each other and get on the same page and working out together. I got yoga lined up for us and everything. So I just try to bring us all together.
“Because when you know your brothers off the field, and it’s, ‘I’m fighting for his family, I’m playing for his family, and he’s playing for my family,’ you just play together more as a team and you understand what he’s going through off the field. So I’m gonna give him my all every single time. I just want my teammates in this organization to know that’s what I’m all about.”
And off the field?
“I’m chill,” added Adams, again with a wide smile. “Off-seasons, I use my mornings from 5 a.m. to about 12 for football. And then after that, it’s daddy duties. I keep my family mainly to myself. But you’ll see them around.
“And I don’t watch too much NFL. I will go out my way to watch CFL, though. I like that. I like watching film, going back and self-scouting and things like that.
“As a young American coming to the CFL, it’s like, ‘OK, let’s do three years up here and try to get back down south.’ It didn’t work out that way, but you fall in love with the game. And so I fell in love with the game, and I’m appreciative of every opportunity I’ve gotten up here in the CFL.”
On X: @ToddSaelhofPM