Despite their recent struggles, the B.C. Lions don’t have a quarterback problem — according to one of their quarterbacks, anyway.
“I just want to say the B.C. Lions don’t have a ‘quarterback issue,’” Vernon Adams Jr. posted to social media. “As a team, we need to be better in all three phases and make more plays going into the playoffs. I appreciate all the love and support but not one player is going to change all of this. Back to work! Go Lions!”
The 31-year-old passer made the comment as part of a Thanksgiving message on Monday, which came two days after the Lions were blown out by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Regina by a score of 39-8. The loss locked B.C. into third place in the West Division, which means the team will have to win back-to-back road playoff games in order to play at home in this year’s Grey Cup in Vancouver.
Nathan Rourke has started all eight games for the Lions since he returned from the NFL in August, completing 65.1 percent of his passes for 1,581 yards, four touchdowns, and seven interceptions and rushing 23 times for 208 yards and five scores. The Lions have gone 3-5 with the 26-year-old native of Victoria, B.C. at the helm, a far cry from the 8-1 record he posted in meaningful regular season games back in 2022.
Adams Jr. completed 64.3 percent of his passes for 2,469 yards, 14 touchdowns, and six interceptions to start this season, posting a 5-3 record before suffering a knee injury. B.C. signed Rourke 12 days after the injury occurred, prompting head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell to release a statement indicating Adams Jr. wouldn’t be traded because he’s “too good a player, too valuable a leader, and a huge part of our team.”
Since that statement was released, the veteran quarterback has attempted seven passes. He didn’t see the field during Saturday’s loss to Saskatchewan as Campbell put in rookie third-stringer Chase Brice once the game got out of hand in the fourth quarter.
Vibes are at an all-time high ahead of kickoff in Regina 
#BCLions pic.twitter.com/vlC4hGXpBA
— BC LIONS (@BCLions) October 12, 2024
The Lions have continued to say all the right things as the season has progressed, though pundits and fans have questioned Campbell’s loyalty to Rourke. Many of them pointed out that Adams Jr. — not Rourke — was the one hyping up the team to play in Regina, as seen in the video above.
Regardless of who is under centre, B.C.’s odds to appear in this year’s Grey Cup have never been longer as the team struggled mightily in its most recent trips to Saskatchewan and Winnipeg — the sites of this year’s two West Division playoff games — losing them by a combined score of 64-8.
The Lions (8-9) will host the Montreal Alouettes (12-3-1) on Saturday, Oct. 19 with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The game will have no impact on the standings for either team as B.C. has clinched third in the West Division and Montreal will finish atop the East Division.
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