Jamal Adams, the former first-round pick of the New York Jets, was back at MetLife Stadium on Sunday battling for a roster spot with the Minnesota Vikings.
But just two weeks after signing with his new club, it’s not looking great, as he was carted off in the first half of the Vikings' 13-10 win due to a knee injury.
Adams was covering New York Giants receiver Calvin Austin III in the red zone when he had to start sprinting across the field to handle his route. But Adams fell down to the turf with a non-contact injury, it seemed, and he didn’t get up quickly.
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A cart eventually came out onto the turf and brought Adams back to the Vikings’ locker room.
During an in-game interview, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell was asked about Adams’ knee injury, and the veteran sideline leader said it was "not good" after the first look at it.
"In such a short amount of time, Jamal has done such an unbelievable job coming here," O’Connell said. "You feel his passion every single day. Certainly felt it spending a few moments with him before they took him in.
"You’re just crushed for him, the role he was kind of paving for himself, and then just having a personality, experience, toughness that he brought in such a short amount of time. We’re going to miss him."
The fact O’Connell is already saying the team is going to miss him says all you need to know about the severity of the injury for Adams.
It’s a shame considering he was having a great game up to that point, making a key stop on a run play by the Giants and flying around at his linebacker position.
Adams joined the Vikings just before training camp got underway on July 28, where he knew he’d have to battle for a roster spot for the upcoming season.
Heading into his 10th NFL season, Adams has known this feeling, which wasn’t there earlier in his career.
On that MetLife Stadium turf, Adams became a staple for the Jets after they took him sixth overall out of LSU in 2017. He made two Pro Bowls in 2018 and 2019, including a First Team All-Pro selection in the latter season after totaling 6.5 sacks, 75 tackles, two forced fumbles, one pick-six and seven passes defended across 14 games.
But after that season, the Jets traded Adams to the Seattle Seahawks, where he would spend his next four seasons. In 2024, he split time with the Tennessee Titans and Detroit Lions before finding a home with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025.
Adams transitioned from safety to linebacker last season, and the Vikings were planning to do the same with the 30-year-old before this injury. Adams, though, views himself as a defensive Swiss Army knife, having the ability to be versatile if need be.
Now, Adams will hope that further testing can be graceful in terms of recovery despite non-contact knee injuries usually meaning the worst for athletes.
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