RIDERS PIVOT TO ADAMS AS THE QB OF THE FUTURE
Kevin Glenn may turn out to be a bridge to Bridge.
However, it does appear that Vernon Adams Jr. — not Brandon Bridge — is the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ likeliest heir apparent at quarterback.
Adams was acquired from the Montreal Alouettes on Tuesday along with a fifth-round pick in the 2018 CFL draft. Saskatchewan surrendered homegrown cornerback Tevaughn Campbell and a pair of third-rounders (one each in 2018 and 2019).
The deal ignited speculation about Saskatchewan’s plans for the future at football’s most crucial position.
It is an issue that Chris Jones and associates must consider, given that the 38-year-old Glenn is the league’s oldest player.
He is also among the most productive players in the nine-team circuit.
With 14 touchdown passes, he is second in the league to the Ottawa Redblacks’ Trevor Harris, who has played one more game than Saskatchewan’s spry signal-caller.
“K.G.’s exactly what we thought when we got him,” Jones, the Roughriders’ head coach and general manager, said Wednesday. “First and foremost, he’s a great character guy and a great teammate. He’s throwing the football well. He’s leading our team well. We’ve got to make sure that we protect him.”
Along with their future interests.
Adams gives Saskatchewan a 24-year-old quarterback who won all three of his starts with Montreal last season. He joins a stable of signal-callers that also includes Bridge, 25, and Marquise Williams, 24. Bridge has been the Riders’ No. 2 pivot all season.
“All of those guys that we have are here for a reason,” Jones said. “Now it’s just a matter of who comes out.”
Adams is the logical candidate, considering that Jones had been trying to acquire him for a year. At some point, the Roughriders will have to make the transition to a younger quarterback — even though Glenn is playing some of his best football and may therefore enjoy an extended shelf life.
“You never know,” Jones said. “Tom Brady is certainly playing at a high level now. Peyton Manning played at a very high level. Anthony Calvillo played at a very high level. Ricky Ray, when he’s healthy, has played at a very high level. Quarterbacks, for whatever reason, seem to be aging at a slower rate than they used to.”
Ideally, the Roughriders will be able to nurture a quarterback who can become entrenched as the starter — a la Ron Lancaster, Kent Austin or Darian Durant.
Glenn gives the Roughriders the luxury of not having to rush the process.
He is the Roughriders’ first 38-year-old starting quarterback since 1976, when Lancaster won his second CFL most outstanding player award.
Long after No. 23’s retirement, the Roughriders’ biggest challenge was to replace their iconic passer. The Green and White auditioned a series of quarterbacks without experiencing a breakthrough until the late 1980s — thanks to Austin and Tom Burgess.
Jones has fared considerably better in finding a replacement for his marquee quarterback. Farewell, Durant.
Hello again, Glenn. Problem solved.
For now.
As for the next quarterback in line, well, the process has been dizzying.
Since Jones arrived, the Roughriders have given looksees to 20-something passers Bridge, Williams, Brett Smith, B.J. Coleman, Jacob Huesman, Bryant Munoz, Phillip Sims, G.J. Kinne, Mitchell Gale, Jake Waters, Vad Lee, Jake Heaps, Bryan Bennett, Maty Mauk and now Adams. (There was also the failed Vince Young experiment. No comment.)
In 2016, then-Alouettes GM Jim Popp thought so highly of Adams that Montreal sent a first-rounder to the B.C. Lions to obtain the former Eastern Washington Eagles and Oregon Ducks star.
But the Alouettes, under current GM Kavis Reed, traded for Durant instead of turning to Adams or another young quarterback. Eventually, Adams was deemed expendable.
If he pans out in Saskatchewan, the deal will be a steal. Failing that, the trade will not be regarded as a monumental swing and miss by Jones.
Jones paid a fair, but hardly exorbitant, price for a promising passer without selling the farm or even the tractor.
More than ever, the Jones-led Roughriders are well- positioned for a pivotal handoff — from Glenn to Adams.
The only question, it seems, is when?