https://vikesnow.com/news/2026/the-curious-jamal-adams-development/

The Curious Jamal Adams Development at Vikings Camp

Jamal Adams is still listed as a linebacker on the Vikings’ roster.

That is likely where he will spend most of his time this season. Minnesota signed him as a linebacker, and his physicality, blitzing ability and experience playing near the line of scrimmage give Brian Flores another option in a position group that already includes Blake Cashman, Eric Wilson, Ivan Pace Jr. and rookie Jake Golday.

But Friday’s full-pads practice showed that the Vikings may not view Adams as only a linebacker.

Adams changed his jersey number from 54 to 32 before practice and then worked in several areas of the defense. According to the Vikings’ team website, he took snaps in the box, in the slot and as one of two deep safeties next to Joshua Metellus.

The number itself does not make a player eligible to line up at a different defensive position. Adams could have played safety while wearing No. 54. Still, the timing made Friday noteworthy. The Vikings have a former All-Pro safety who is officially a linebacker, and Flores is at least exploring how much positional flexibility he can offer.

The sensible expectation is not that Adams is returning to safety full-time.

Jay Ward did not practice Friday, and rookie Jakobe Thomas did not participate in team drills. Adams’ safety work may have been largely a response to those absences. But it also fits the larger logic of Flores’ defense, which often asks defenders to move among traditional positions based on the personnel package and matchup.

Adams has spent much of his NFL career resisting easy labels. He entered the league as a safety with the New York Jets, became one of football’s most dangerous blitzers and earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2019. Injuries changed the course of his career, and he played linebacker during his brief stop with the Raiders last season.

Minnesota appears to see value in both sides of that background.

In a Vikings Entertainment Network interview, Adams said Flores’ scheme appealed to him because of the opportunity to be deployed in different ways.

“Really just being unique in different ways, just using me in different positions to use my talents,” Adams said.

He expanded on that idea when asked about his transition to linebacker.

“They believe in me. They believe I can play different positions out here and help the team in any shape or form,” Adams said. “They let me be unique, let me be special out here, to be interchangeable and run different schemes and do different things. So, I’m excited.”

That description sounds familiar in Minnesota.

Metellus has become one of Flores’ most valuable defenders because he can play deep safety, work near the line of scrimmage, cover the slot or take on linebacker-like responsibilities depending on the call. The Vikings do not need Adams to become another Metellus, especially with Adams still learning a new system and a new team’s terminology.

But they may be able to borrow pieces of the same blueprint.

Theo Jackson described Adams’ value this week.

“Jamal is a heck of a player,” Jackson declared. “He can play anywhere you want him, so we just try to get him up to speed at safety and then we can plug him in at linebacker too.”

Jackson pointed to Metellus as another player with that range.

“It’s great because we have Josh as well who can do the same thing,” he said.

The distinction matters. Adams can be a linebacker first while still becoming a useful safety option in certain packages. Flores could bring him down near the line of scrimmage to blitz, play him in the box against the run or use his defensive back background in coverage when the matchup calls for it.

That is a more realistic path than asking Adams to recreate the player who recorded 9.5 sacks for the Seahawks in 2020.

Blake Cashman, who knows Adams from his New York days, sees the traits that could make the hybrid role work.

“Especially a safety that’s kind of converted to linebacker and in this defense, he’s an outstanding blitzer and a guy that can cover,” Cashman said. “He played defensive back his whole life.”

A traditional linebacker can pressure the quarterback, but does not always have Adams’ background in space. A traditional safety can cover, but may not bring his experience and aggression near the line of scrimmage. That combination gives Flores something worth testing.

Friday was only one practice, and it came while Ward and Thomas were limited. The Vikings should not be expected to make a dramatic depth-chart declaration from one day of camp.

Still, Adams’ role is worth watching, as he’s trying to show that he can still be an effective player at age 30 after some slower seasons.

He remains officially a linebacker. In Flores’ defense, that may not prevent him from occasionally being much more than one.