B.C. Lions acquire QB Vernon Adams Jr. from Montreal Alouettes via trade

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

The B.C. Lions have acquired veteran quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. from the Montreal Alouettes in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2023 CFL Draft.

“Getting a player of Vernon’s calibre provides a big boost to our offence as we continue pushing for a return to the playoffs,” said Lions’ co-general manager and director of football operations Neil McEvoy in a statement.

Adams Jr. started the first two games of the season for Montreal and completed 21-of-39 pass attempts for 294 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. He did not dress for the club’s Week 3 game against Saskatchewan after testing positive for COVID-19 and was moved to the six-game injured list with a shoulder injury in Week 8. He has since returned to full health.

B.C. recently lost sensational second-year quarterback Nathan Rourke after he underwent Lisfranc surgery. Though the team remains hopeful that the Victoria, B.C. native will be able to return before the season is over, it is likely that he will be out for the year. Michael O’Connor and Antonio Pipkin both struggled at quarterback in the team’s recent 23-16 loss to the Riders.

Adams Jr. was originally on B.C.’s negotiation list, though his CFL rights were traded to Montreal in May 2016 in exchange for a first-round pick. He was traded to Saskatchewan in August 2017 and subsequently dealt to Hamilton in February 2018, though he rejoined the Alouettes four months later as a free agent.

The 29-year-old has since dressed for 34 games with Montreal, completing 62.3 percent of his passes for 6,405 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions. He started 15 games for the team in 2019 as well as the first eight games of the 2021 season before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.