The Las Vegas Raiders lost both of their starting linebackers in free agency, as Robert Spillane is now a New England Patriot, and Divine Deablo is an Atlanta Falcon. New general manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll have made no shortage of additions to replace them this offseason.
Veterans like Elandon Roberts and Devin White quickly entered the fold after landing cheap contracts with the team on the open market, and later additions like Jaylon Smith and Germaine Pratt only bolstered the unit's abilities and experience.
However, they made another last-second addition before training camp began when they added former All-Pro Jamal Adams to the linebacker room. The safety convert was seen as a big gamble for the Silver and Black, given his injury history and track record of declining play in recent years.
Jamal Adams has impressive preseason debut for Raiders
Through one preseason game, however, Adams is already proving those notions wrong. On Thursday against the Seattle Seahawks, his old team, the nearly 30-year-old player provided a jolt for the second-team defense after a lackluster effort by the first group.
Adams recorded three solo tackles in just two short series, including a couple of tackles on Seahawks running back George Holani, who was a thorn in the Raiders' side all game. The NFL captured one of these impressive plays by Adams and posted it to their social media pages.
Jamal Adams making plays for the @Raiders 🙌
— NFL (@NFL) August 8, 2025
LVvsSEA on @NFLNetwork
Watch live out-of-market preseason games on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/75Lmc8X37H
While Raider Nation should not overreact to a handful of good plays in a preseason game against backups, it was more about the speed that Adams played with that is exciting the fan base. He will never return to the level he played at early in his career, but if he can give the Raiders a few glimpses, it will dramatically help the linebacker room.
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Fellow outside linebackers Devin White and Matt Jones had rough performances with the first- and third-team defenses, but Adams was a bright spot with the second-stringers. White took a few bad angles and got blocked out of plays, and Jones took too many chances and missed several tackles.
Adams, however, was as solid as they come and even got a pressure on Seattle quarterback Drew Lock in addition to his collection of tackles. His only playing two series may have been an indicator that Carroll and the staff had seen enough good from him to sideline him and prevent any injuries.
Staying healthy will be the most important thing for Adams this year, as he has played in just 15 NFL games since 2021. If he can do that, then it looks like Adams is already on his way to being an impact player for the Raiders' defense in 2025, which would be quite the cash-in on a perceived gamble.