The Las Vegas Raiders signed veteran safety Jamal Adams on Tuesday afternoon, just one day before training camp practices began. While he was once considered one of the best in the NFL on the New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks, the knee-jerk reaction was that this was a bad signing.
While it is true that Adams has been injury-prone every year since 2018, he's past the prime of his career, and he has more than one questionable off-the-field moment, Las Vegas could be the land of redemption for the 29-year-old player.
Adams has largely struggled in pass coverage throughout his NFL career, as according to Pro Football Focus, he has only finished in the top 100 for pass coverage among safeties a single time since the 2020 NFL season.
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Thankfully, it seems like the Raiders will not be asking him to do that in 2025. New general manager John Spytek joined Raider Nation Radio on Wednesday morning before training camp began and explained that the team intends to play him closer to the line of scrimmage.
This would mean that they envision him not in the typical free safety role, which should cause Raiders fans to sigh in relief. Adams is incredibly fast and physical, so his talents are best suited in the box as almost an outside linebacker or slot corner, not as the last line of defense.
Pete Carroll utilized Adams in this exact way when he played for the Seahawks, and he finished with the No. 1 overall safety grade in 2022. He also finished with the seventh-highest pass coverage grade because Carroll played him to his strengths, which he should do in Las Vegas as well.
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Adams drew plenty of praise from his new teammates on Wednesday, as both Maxx Crosby and Jeremy Chinn spoke to the media after practice about what the team's new addition could potentially bring to Las Vegas.
"It's super exciting, man," Chinn said. "I've always been a big support of Jamal's game, so just to have him in the building, you know, it's only going to help our team."
Chinn will be playing most closely with Adams, but Crosby also corroborated this assessment and added his own perspective on the addition.
"He's dynamic, (he) flies around. He's got the right type of energy," Crosby said. "It's like everybody else, keep stacking days and show up with positive energy. I think he's going to help us."
If the Raiders can use Adams sparingly, and only in the capacity that he can be effective in, then perhaps he will live up to the billing from Chinn and Crosby. Regardless, this is a low-risk, high-reward endeavor and Raider Nation can only hope that it works out.