Going into the 2016 NFL Draft, Vernon Adams had himself rated as the second-best quarterback available. Unfortunately for Adams, the league's 32 teams didn't see things the same way.
The former Oregon quarterback went undrafted in April, and now, he's headed to Canada in an attempt to prolong his football career. The move to the CFL comes after failed NFL tryouts in both Seattle and Washington.
Adams is headed to Montreal to play for an Alouettes team that gave up some serious compensation to get him. Montreal traded its 2017 CFL first-round pick to the British Columbia in order to land Adams' CFL rights.
Although Adams thought he was the second best quarterback in the draft -- behind only Carson Wentz -- the 5-foot-11 quarterback wasn't exactly shocked when he went undrafted.
"I wasn't surprised that I wasn't drafted," Adams via CBC.ca. "I know everybody talks about how short I am and everything like that, so I wasn't surprised at all."
A total of 15 quarterbacks were selected during April's draft.
"If anything, it's all gonna work out," Adams said. "It's in God's hands. Wherever I'm going to be -- CFL, NFL -- that's where I'm gonna be."
Just because Adams is headed to the CFL doesn't mean his NFL dreams have to die. Several notable players have gone on to NFL success after starting their career in the CFL, and the good news for Adams is that many of those players were quarterbacks.
Joe Kapp, Jeff Garcia, Joe Theismann, Warren Moon and Doug Flutie all made the jump from CFL starting quarterback to NFL starting quarterback.
Both Theisman and Kapp went on to lead their respective teams to a Super Bowl appearance. Theismann was on the winning side of Super Bowl XVII with the Redskins, while Kapp was on the losing side of Super Bowl IV with the Vikings.
Although Garcia and Flutie never started in a Super Bowl, both quarterbacks went on to have long NFL careers after their stints in the CFL.
As for Moon, he's the gold-standard of former CFL quarterbacks. The former Oilers quarterback went on to play 17 NFL seasons after his CFL career and would later be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Cameron Wake and former Saints receiver Joe Horn are two non-quarterbacks who recently found NFL success after a career in the CFL.
Adams is well-aware of the fact that a successful stint in the CFL could lead to a long NFL career.
"I could be like a Warren Moon or Doug Flutie," Adams told ESPN.com recently. "All I need is a chance. ... If they can stop looking at my height and give me a chance they'd get a teammate with a lot of energy and a great leader."
