Three-time Pro Bowler Jamal Adams signs with Minnesota Vikings
Safety-turned-linebacker Jamal Adams, 30, agreed to terms with the Minnesota Vikings on July 28, 2026, entering his 10th NFL season. Adams played all 448 defensive snaps at linebacker for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025, recording 45 tackles, a sack, seven pressures and a forced fumble across 17 games. The signing reunites him with Vikings general manager Nolan Teasley, who orchestrated Adams' trade to the Seattle Seahawks in 2020.
Jamal Adams announced his agreement to join the Minnesota Vikings on social media Monday night, July 28, 2026, posting 'Year 10' with the team's hashtag. The 30-year-old safety-turned-linebacker enters his 10th NFL season after spending 2025 with the Las Vegas Raiders, where he logged all 448 of his defensive snaps at linebacker.
Adams arrives with Pro Bowl credentials: three selections over his career, including a first-team All-Pro honor in 2019 while with the New York Jets. According to ESPN's reporting, he has recorded 546 tackles, 22.5 sacks, four interceptions and 36 pass deflections across 102 career games, 87 as a starter.
The signing reconnects Adams with Vikings general manager Nolan Teasley, who was part of the Seattle Seahawks' front office that acquired him from the Jets in a blockbuster trade prior to the 2020 season. With Seattle, Adams appeared in 34 games because of injury, though he added a Pro Bowl appearance in 2020.
Last season with Las Vegas, Adams appeared in all 17 games, his most since playing 16 games in his second season with the Jets in 2018. He totaled 45 tackles, a sack, seven pressures and a forced fumble, recording at least four tackles in a game on five occasions, per ESPN's data.
Adams' arrival with Minnesota comes as the Vikings defense operates under coordinator Brian Flores, who deploys unusual personnel schemes and has frequently placed three safeties on the field simultaneously. The team has been awaiting word on longtime safety Harrison Smith's retirement decision. Josh Metellus has rotated between edge rusher, linebacker and defensive back roles under Flores' scheme.
The switch to full-time linebacker duty marks a departure from Adams' Pro Bowl years at safety. He has not been a full-time starter since 2023, and injuries have affected his availability in recent years: he appeared in only five games combined with the Tennessee Titans and Detroit Lions in 2024. Questions remain about how the Vikings will deploy him across Flores' multi-safety rotation and whether his durability will hold through a full season.
Adams, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, played linebacker for Las Vegas last season and is joining a Minnesota defense coordinated by Brian Flores, who deploys multiple safeties in unconventional packages.
What to watch: Adams' snap distribution in training camp and how Flores integrates him with the team's rotating safeties and linebackers. The story hinges on whether Adams can sustain the availability he showed last season with Las Vegas (17 games) and prove that his 2024 limited action was circumstantial rather than indicative of ongoing durability concerns.
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