His knee injury isn’t as bad as originally thought but it will keep him on the sidelines against Edmonton
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The B.C. Lions had three quarterbacks on the practice field at their Surrey headquarters on Tuesday, and one of them was injured starter Vernon Adams Jr.
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Adams, 31, was working on his own on the side, rehabbing the right knee he hurt in Thursday’s 25-0 loss on the road to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The fact that he was out there at all, and the fact that B.C. didn’t rush to bring in another quarterback, does make it seem that Adams’ situation isn’t nearly as dire as it appeared when he went down in a heap on the Winnipeg turf. He did leave the field that night on a medical cart.
Coach Rick Campbell said Tuesday that back-up Jake Dolegala will start at pivot Sunday on the road against the Edmonton Elks, and No. 3 man Chase Brice will be next in line.
The team will undoubtedly have a third quarterback in tow in time for Sunday. It’s looking like an insurance policy-type situation right now, with the wait-and-see regarding Adams not nearly as weighty as it could have been.
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The Lions are hosting the Grey Cup this fall. They have designs on making that game, and Adams remains very much at the wheel for that pursuit.
“I’m feeling much better. We got better news than we expected,” said Adams, who was wearing brace on his knee Tuesday. “It’s not ligaments (damaged) or anything.
“So I’m just ready to attack rehab and get back better and stronger than ever. I need to stayed locked in mentally and do what I can for Jake, Brice and the team.
“The swelling has gone down. I’m just taking it day by day. You can’t rush into it too much. You’ve got to take baby steps and slowly build that strength.”
B.C. (5-3) has the game against Edmonton (1-7), and then hosts Winnipeg (3-6) on Aug. 18 at B.C. Place. Adams was asked Tuesday if he was possibly targeting that match-up for his return. Even with their slow start to the year, Winnipeg remains a benchmark team in the league — they’ve been to the past four Grey Cups, knocking out the Lions in the past two Western Finals along the way.
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Adams’ answer about the Winnipeg game started out with him saying that he is currently sidelined “week to week,” but he then left the door open a glimmer.
“Obviously, that’s a huge game. We have to take care of this one first,” Adams said. “I’m all here for Jake and Chase and whatever they need. We take care of that and we’ll see how I feel next week and just go day by day.”
Dolegala, 27, signed with the Lions as a free agent in the off-season after spending his first two years in the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Saskatchewan lost veteran passer Trevor Harris to injury early in the campaign. Dolegala wound up the starter down the stretch, and the Roughriders went 2-7 with him at the controls. One of his wins, though, came against B.C., with a 34-29 triumph on Aug. 20 that saw Dolegala go 18-of-29 for 239 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
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For the season, he threw for 2,641 yards, with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also had 26 carries for 95 yards, with one touchdown.
He’s from Hamburg, N.Y., and played collegiately at Central Connecticut State University. He saw duty on the practice rosters of four different NFL clubs before coming to Saskatchewan.
“He’s not going to be fazed by the tempo of the game or anything like that,” Campbell said. “This is the reason we sign a guy with experience. We always talk in the off-season about how it’s going to take two (quarterbacks) to get it done. It’s no different this year.
“And I know he’s going to be excited.”
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Adams is known for his scrambling and elusiveness. Dolegala comes in at 6-foot-7 and 242 pounds. When asked if he’ll dart around the field as much as Adams, he replied: “If I have to, I have to.”
Campbell believes that “concepts and reads,” won’t change with the offence with the switch at quarterback.
“Jake’s learned the system and knows what to expect as far as calls go,” Campbell added. “We’ll adapt to his skill set and what Edmonton does and go from there.”
Adams is second in the CFL in passing yards (2,469) and touchdown tosses (14).
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