There was a significant trade in the Canadian Football League on Tuesday. According to cfl.ca, the Calgary Stampeders acquired quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. from the British Columbia Lions. In return, the Lions receive the Stampeders’s second and fourth round pick in the 2025 CFL Draft, and the Stampeders’s second round pick in the 2026 CFL Draft. The Stampeders’s will also receive the Lions’s fourth round pick in 2025, and the third round pick in 2026. During the 2025 CFL Draft, the Lions will now get the ninth overall and 29th overall picks, and the Stampeders will get the 32nd overall pick.
The Lions had two strong quarterbacks last year in Adams Jr. and Canadian Nathan Rourke of Victoria, British Columbia. Rourke started eight games, but only won three of the contests. With the trade it is clear that the Stampeders are moving on from Jake Maier.
The Stampeders are Adams Jr.’s fourth CFL franchise. He previously played six seasons with the Montreal Alouettes from 2016 to 2022, one season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2017, and the last three seasons with the Lions. In 18 games this past season, Adams Jr. completed 197 passes in 302 attempts for 2929 passing yards, 16 touchdown passes and nine interceptions. He also had 40 rushes for 213 rushing yards and three touchdown runs.
