The B.C. Lions are done pretending there is a debate at the quarterback position.
On Wednesday, freshly promoted general manager Ryan Rigmaiden publicly confirmed that Vernon Adams Jr. will be traded this offseason, leaving Nathan Rourke as the team’s starter in 2025.
“We’re going to start those conversations tonight. I’ll start reaching out to some teams,” Rigmaiden told reporters when asked when he expected a trade to take place.
“Again, I’m not a timeline guy. I want to make the best decision for the club and so I’m never going to throw out an arbitrary date to say we’d like to do this. But we’d like to do it sooner than later, out of respect to both him and the club, just so everybody knows what they’re doing. We’ll see what the market shakes out.”
The Lions have been embroiled in a quarterback controversy since Rourke returned from the NFL in August and was handed a three-year contract that will make him the highest-paid player in the CFL next season. Adams was out with a knee injury at the time of the acquisition but was the midseason front-runner for Most Outstanding Player. The team’s decision not to give him his starting job back once he returned to full health appeared to divide the locker room, leading to a disappointing 9-9 record.
The 31-year-old QB was handed the reins back for the final two games of the season, losing in the West Semi-Final. While team officials initially stated that a decision had not been made between the two quarterbacks for the future, Rourke revealed in his post-season media availability that he knew he would be a Lion next season. Meanwhile, Adams could see the writing on the wall and said that he believed he would get a say in where he would be playing next year.
In his first press conference under his new title, Rigmaiden dismissed that suggestion but promised to be transparent with Adams throughout the process.
“I talk to VA all the time. I put him on the neg list when he was 19 years old. I love VA. I’ve got a lot of background with him, so we’re gonna keep in communication with him. As a matter of fact, I talked to him a couple of hours ago,” he shared. “He will not have a say in this process. We’re gonna do what’s best for the club. We’re gonna keep in constant communication with him.”
Adams completed 197-of-302 passes (65.2 percent) for 2,929 yards, 16 touchdowns, and nine interceptions last season. He also rushed 40 times for 213 yards and three scores, going 6-3 as a starter in 2024.
The Oregon product was originally acquired by the Lions via trade mid-way through the 2022 season, stepping in for an injured Rourke. Throughout his eight-year CFL career, Adams has spent time in Hamilton, Saskatchewan, Montreal, and B.C., throwing for 16,190 yards, 96 touchdowns and 54 interceptions while rushing for 1,644 yards and 24 majors in 102 games.
Rigmaiden expects there to be substantial interest in the veteran passer, who has twice been traded for a first-round pick in his career.
“I think everybody’s looking for a starting quarterback with that skill set. I would guess right out of the gate at least two or three teams are interested,” he said.
“We’re going to start making those phone calls literally tonight and we’ll gauge that market. He’s a tremendous quarterback. You guys know what kind of leader and what kind of personality he is. Anybody that isn’t firm on quarterback, I think is going to want to at least have a conversation.”
