Follow CALGARY STAMPEDERS

© 2025 Calgary Stampeders. All rights reserved.

Menu
@
Features April 1, 2025

Adams Jr. On First Season In Calgary: ‘i Know I’ve Got To Win’

Vernon Adams Jr. rested his body and his brain on the sunny beaches of Jamaica last week in preparation for his first season at quarterback for the Calgary Stampeders.

No running plays in his mind. No studying game film. No strategizing ways to lift his new team back into playoff contention this season – and beyond – with Calgary hosting the 2026 Grey Cup at McMahon Stadium.

“Trying not to think about it,” Adams Jr. said on Friday in a brief phone chat with CFL.ca. “I’ve been grinding hard and working my butt off and trying to learn this offence.”

RELATED
» BUY SEASON TICKETS
» DETAILS: 2025 Stampeders Schedule
» READ: 10 Big Impact Stamps Draft Selections
» READ: CGY Champs Classroom Visit – Jalen Philpot
» WATCH: Stampede Bowl Logo Reveal

The 32 -year-old was back to the grind on Monday — lifting weights, taking care of his body and scouting his own performance through forensic inspection of his own game footage.

For Adams Jr. knows what’s waiting for him in Calgary – a restless fanbase still in shock over the Stampeders failing to advance to the post-season for the first time in 20 years.

“I’m excited to get there and start a new chapter in my book and hopefully help this organization get back to where it normally is,” he said. “But this is a team game. It’s not always just on one person.”

True enough. But quarterbacks and head coaches tend to receive more of the adulation in winning times and more of the scorn in the losing times. And Adams Jr. is joining a CFL club known over the years as a quarterback factory, featuring some of the greatest to ever play the game.

Doug Flutie, Jeff Garcia, Dave Dickenson, Bo Levi Mitchell – they all belong on the proverbial Mount Rushmore of quarterbacks. And they all played for the Stamps.

Pressure? Absolutely. But Adams Jr. is ready to establish his own place in Stampeder history.

“I know I’ve got to win,” said Adams Jr., who joined the Stampeders in a November trade with the BC Lions. “All those guys you mentioned won for this organization – big games, championships and things like that.

“I’m just going to take it day-by-day, play my game within the system and add my little twist to it.”

His twist?

“Of all those quarterbacks you named, I’m probably more similar to Doug Flutie,” said Adams Jr., a veteran of nine CFL seasons. “I never really watched too much film on him.

“But I’m going to scramble. I’m not scrambling to run. I’m looking to have big plays and get the crowd going.”

Come June, Stampeder fans will definitely need to pull up a current roster and position chart , given the number of changes this off-season.

The lengthy list of new faces includes receivers Tevin Jones and Dominique Rhymes, running back Jeshrun Antwi, quarterback P.J. Walker, defensive end Folarin Orimolade, defensive back Damon Webb and linebacker Derrick Moncrief.

For Adams Jr., the goal is to get to know as many of his new teammates as quickly as possible.

“I’m just trying to reach out as much as I can,” he said. “I haven’t met too many of these guys in person. I got traded after the season when everyone was leaving.

“So I’m just trying to let all the guys know that I’m working hard, and I’m going to give them my all. I want everyone to hold me accountable.”

Several weeks back, Adams Jr. met up in Houston with Jones, Rhymes, Reggie Begelton and Jalen Philpot. They made a point of turning the conversation away from the sport they love in favour of what they love in their lives.

“We don’t want to just talk about football,” Adams Jr. said. “No, we’ve got 18 weeks of that already.

“So we go out, we eat, we break bread, get to know each other — our backgrounds, families, wives, girlfriends, kids, things like that.”

Over the course of that trip, Adams Jr. learned a lot about his new receiving corps.

“Tevin Jones is a funny guy,” he said. “He always looks serious, but he’s very funny. Reggie is who you guys think he is. He’s a very professional, great dude. A hard worker. Wants everything done right. That’s what I’ve seen from him from afar, and that’s who he is.

“Jalen is a quiet dude. We’re going to have to try to break that shell. He’s going to be an exciting player this year.”

And then there’s Rhymes, reuniting with Adams Jr. in Calgary after catching 72 passes for 1,011 yards last season for Ottawa.

“He took me in when I got traded to the BC Lions a few years ago,” Adams Jr. said. “I’m just excited to have him back with me and have that height out there.

“I know he’s going to go up and make a lot of big plays for us.”

It’s clear the Stampeders didn’t just trade for a quarterback in Adams Jr. They traded for a locker-room leader.

And it all starts with phone calls, texts and the occasional in-person visit over the winter.

“I have a better understanding of who I’m fighting for on that field,” Adams Jr. said. “I’m fighting for this man and his family.

“So I want to do the best I can do, and then they’re thinking the same way.”