The Calgary Stampeders are the latest CFL team to lose the services of their starting quarterback.
Vernon Adams Jr. was ruled out by the team on Wednesday for Thursday’s game against the Ottawa Redblacks with a head injury and placed on the one-game injured list.
With Adams missing his first game of the season, only the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats have had the same QB start every game in 2025.
With Adams out, P.J. Walker will get the start against the Redblacks. Walker, 30, played four seasons in the NFL and started nine games between the Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns.
Thursday’s game against the Redblacks will mark Walker’s first career start in the CFL.
Adams was injured late in a Week 8 loss to the Montreal Alouettes.
Near the end of the third quarter, Adams scrambled out of the pocket and ran for a seven-yard gain before he was hit hard by Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette. Although he got to his feet and walked to the sidelines, he was assessed for a head injury and didn’t return to the game.
The former B.C. Lions quarterback is off to a great start in his first season in Calgary, with 1,913 yards and nine touchdowns. His excellent play has the Stampeders off to a surprising 5-2 start and second place in the West Division.
Adams isn’t the only key injury the Stampeders offence is dealing with as Damien Alford and Jalen Philpot, two of the team’s top receiving targets, were also ruled out by the team with hamstring injuries.
Alford, Calgary’s No. 1 pick in the 2025 CFL Draft, went down early in Week 8 with a hamstring injury and did not return to the game.