TORONTO — Vernon Adams Jr. is a Calgary Stampeder.
The Red and White have found their new starting quarterback via trade, sending their 2025 round two selection (9th overall), 2025 round four selection (29th overall) and their round two selection in the 2026 CFL Draft to the BC Lions for the veteran pivot. As part of the deal, Calgary also received a 2025 fourth selection (32nd overall) and round three selection in 2026.
Adams Jr. offers as high of an upside as any pivot in the CFL, providing optimism that the Stampeders can return to the post-season after finishing last in the West Division in 2024.
CFL.ca brings you three key stats Adams Jr. registered in 2024 with the Lions.
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9.1 – BIG-TIME THROW PERCENTAGE
If you want your quarterback to dish out big throw after big throw, Adams Jr. is your guy. The veteran led the CFL in big-time throw percentage with 9.1, with the next closest player being Tre Ford with 6.5.
Adams Jr. was second in total big-time throws (32) despite not throwing a single pass in eight games in 2024. His total was only two shy of Bo Levi Mitchell (34) for the league lead.
2,203 – PASSING YARDS
The new Stampeders pivot threw for 2,203 yards over the first six games of 2024, good for an MOP-worthy pace of 6,609 yards over a full season. The quarterback would go on to suffer an injury two games later against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before missing most of the remainder of the season after the arrival of Nathan Rourke.
Adams Jr. returned to the lineup in Week 20 against the Alouettes, throwing for 385 yards against Montreal, before going for 317 yards in the Western Semi-Final loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
14.1 – AVERAGE DEPTH OF TARGET PASSING
Average depth of target means how willing a quarterback is to push the ball down field. To put into context, the next closest ones to Adam Jr.’s 14.1 – among quarterbacks with at least 100 passing attempts – were Chad Kelly (12.5), Tre Ford (11.1), Bo Levi Mitchell (10.9) and Zach Collaros (10.9).
That means no other quarterback in the CFL was looking to test a defence deep more often than the new Red and White pivot. Adams Jr.’s aggressiveness led to his league-leading big-time play percentage, while still keeping him below Kelly (4.5) and Collaros (4.1) in turnover-worthy throw percentage (4.0).