Kevin O'Connell: Despite injury, Jamal Adams will be "important" to Vikings in 2026

The Vikings lost safety/linebacker Jamal Adams to a torn quad tendon during Saturday's preseason opener at the Giants. And even though the recently-signed Adams will not play this season, he'll be a big part of the team in 2026. "Just from what he had meant to us in such a short amount of time, he’s had such a great impact," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell told reporters regarding the 10-year veteran. "I compliment [G.M.] Nolan [Teasley] for, you know, that was — Nolan was really excited about making that move, and just the dialogue between him and myself and [defensive coordinator Brian Flores], and then watching Flo, you know, put together the plan of attack for him and a real role that was kind of really coming together." Teasley knew Adams from their time together in Seattle. "He'll have that procedure to have that fixed, and then he's gonna be with us all season long," O'Connell said regarding Adams. "I think it's really important that Jamal knows, and I've talked . . . both to him and his family, about just his impact on this organization, his ability to help young players, his ability to be a real beacon of energy, and once, obviously, he's gonna be focused on getting healthy and getting the initial early stages of his rehab going, but we're gonna have him with us. You guys will see him around, see him out here, see him around the building. Because he's a Minnesota Viking now, and we want to make sure that he knows how important he'll be to our players and team." It's unfortunate that Adams won't be able to play, but the team's willingness to embrace him will help fill the void created by a season that was lost before it even began.