Photo courtesy: CFL.
Vernon Adams Jr. has developed a trend and wants to buck it in 2026.
His last three CFL campaigns, to varying degrees, have started hot, with Adams Jr. being in the Most Outstanding Player conversation until different points in the schedule.
Last year with the Calgary Stampeders, he threw for 15 touchdowns with eight interceptions in his first 10 games, compared to six and six in his final seven starts.
In 2024, Adams Jr. was injured shortly before Nathan Rourke signed back in the CFL and became the team’s starter. In 2023, a left knee injury suffered in Week 7 caused him to miss two starts.
“It’s all about consistency. Like you said, I’ve started these last three years probably in the MOP race — middle of the season, VA is there. Then an injury or I get complacent and, boom, I hit rock bottom. I either lose four in a row or I get injured,” Adams Jr. told 3DownNation.
“I’ve been telling everybody, I want to be more consistent. I say it every year, but I literally want to be more consistent for my team, for the organization, for the fans. Not just the Calgary fans, the CFL fans. I got a lot of fans all over the CFL, and they want to see great things out of me. That’s what everybody wants, they want to see me win a championship.”
The 33-year-old has won one playoff start in his CFL career, a dominant performance in the 2023 West Semi-Final. He understands why analysts feel he’s underperformed in the postseason, but believes it’s time for him to get past the West Final and into a Grey Cup.
The five-foot-eleven, 190-pound dual-threat QB knows he needs to be more consistent and healthy over an entire season in order to put his team in position to compete for a title.
“Don’t get complacent. Don’t stop doing your routine that you normally do. That’s my thing. Any of my teammates, I’m telling you right here, hold me accountable to the highest standard. We got a standard, and let’s hold it,” Adams Jr. said.
“Continuing to keep your same routine and going harder when you get to the middle of the season. Khari Jones said it best, ‘Do less better.’ Don’t start going out of your way to do different things that you weren’t doing in the beginning of the season. Keeping that routine, staying locked in on and off the field, make sure my mental is sharp, talking to the right people, hanging around the right people.”
No. 3 wants to legitimately be in contention for a championship because he believes his best years of football are right now. Everyone needs to be accountable in his view, including himself, if the Stamps want to earn a ring with Calgary hosting the Grey Cup in November.
“It’s unspoken, but when you get somewhere in the middle of the season, bodies get tired and guys want to start choosing more fast food over the healthy food that they’ve been eating. That affects your body, whether you like it or not. It’s holding each other accountable, understanding the standard,” he said.
“Keep doing the same things we’ve been doing, let’s keep doing that. In the long run, it’ll pay off, and we’ll see it.”
Adams Jr. was an East Division all-star in 2019, tied for the most rushing touchdowns in the CFL that same year and led the three-down league with 4,769 passing yards in 2023. If he can stay steady for the Stampeders, his team can contend for a title.
