Former Eastern Washington star Vernon Adams opts out of CFL contract to pursue NFL

Former Eastern Washington quarterback Vernon Adams said he plans to opt out of his Canadian Football League contract in hopes of landing a spot on an NFL roster this fall.

Adams made the announcement Sunday on Twitter, months after the Montreal Alouettes starter signed a three-year, $1.5 million deal following the best season of his CFL year. The ex-EWU star hasn’t seen much of that money, though, with the cancellation of the 2020 season due to coronavirus concerns, forcing him to live mostly off a signing bonus of roughly $200,000 and a part-time job as an Uber Eats delivery driver.

If an NFL team doesn’t sign Adams – a two-time Walter Payton Award finalist at EWU who transferred to Oregon a senior in 2015 – he said he will return to Montreal for the 2021 season with the goal of building a “dynasty.”

“I was forced to examine all options to provide for my family,” wrote Adams, who lives in Seattle and has two children.

NFL preseason camps began in early August, but games don’t begin until Sept. 10 with the elimination of the league’s preseason schedule.

Adams didn’t announce the NFL teams he was interested in trying out or no reports surfaced Sunday of teams interested in Adams.

Adams, the Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year in his lone season at Oregon, had a breakout year for Montreal in 2019, passing for 3,942 yards and 24 touchdowns to help his team reach the postseason and was named an East Division All-Star.

He was critical of the CFL when the CFL opted to cancel the season two weeks ago, primarily the fact that owners and coaches were getting paid during the shutdown, but not the players.

“DefundTheCommish #DefundTheCoaches #CFL #PayTheProduct,” Adams Ttweeted. “Everybody who is getting paid in CFL organizations, defund them all. This is nuts.”

Adams went undrafted in 2016 but invited to rookie mini-camps with the Seattle Seahawks and The Washington Football Team, but was ultimately cut and went north to the CFL.