Jamal Adams Announces Vikings Contract After Raiders Stint, 3-Time Pro Bowl Safety Converted to LB

NFL veteran Jamal Adams confirmed reports from Monday that he's signing a contract with the Minnesota Vikings ahead of the 2026 season.

Adams, 30, was a longtime safety before making the switch to linebacker last season, registering 45 tackles (five for loss), a sack, two quarterback hits and a forced fumble in 17 games (four starts) for the Las Vegas Raiders.

The converted linebacker was one of the best defensive backs in football early in his career, earning Pro Bowl honors in three of his first four seasons and a first-team All-Pro nod in 2019.

But was ultimately his final season with the team that drafted him, the New York Jets, as he was traded to the Seattle Seahawks ahead of the 2020 campaign alongside a fourth-round pick for safety Bradley McDougald, two first-round selections and a third-rounder. The move came amidst a contract dispute between Adams and the Jets,

The trade—and the four-year, $70 million extension Seattle signed him to one year later—ultimately aged poorly for the Seahawks. While Adams was a Pro Bowler in his first season with the organization, injury issues limited him to 34 total games across four seasons in Seattle.

He was released after the 2023 season and split time between the Tennessee Titans and Detroit Lions in 2024 before the Raiders took a chance on him at linebacker last year. That idea started with Pete Carroll, at the time the head coach in Las Vegas.

"[Carroll] straight up told me, 'You're going to be in the linebacker room, so get over it,'" Adams told the team's website in Aug. 2025. "So I was just like, 'Alright s--t, let's do it.'"

It was the first time Adams ever played linebacker in his life, but he clearly adjusted well enough to get a shot at playing the position for the Vikings this season.