The Las Vegas Raiders brought in Pete Carroll and John Spytek this offseason, and the new leadership tandem made so many transactions that the fan base's collective head started spinning. While a handful of them were exciting, plenty of them defied logic or felt a bit risky.
No signing was a bigger gamble than the addition of Jamal Adams just before training camp, as the former All-Pro safety looked washed at his most recent stops. But Carroll believed in his former player's ability to transition to linebacker, and Adams dominated throughout the preseason.
This didn't translate into a large role in the regular season, as Adams, despite being the highest-graded defender on the Raiders' defense through two weeks, played just 19.7 snaps per game. After the sudden release of Germaine Pratt, however, he may be the most important player on the defense.
Jamal Adams is suddenly pivotal for Raiders after Germaine Pratt release
On Monday, Carroll spoke to the media and confirmed Pratt's release, citing a need to move in a different direction as the sole reason. In the same media availability, he was asked about how he intends to fill Pratt's void, and he shouted out three players in particular.
"Malcolm [Koonce]. [Charles] Snowden and Jamal [Adams] all combining to help," Carroll said. "They all play the same spot, and so those guys will work out for us."
It seems a bit ludicrous to lump Koonce, Snowden and Adams all into the same position, but that's where the Raiders are. Adams, being a former safety, is obviously the best option to replace Pratt's sure tackling and strong coverage.
In 2025, Adams has a strong Pro Football Focus coverage grade of 78.7, relinquishing just 47 total receiving yards on 70 coverage snaps. Last week against the Indianapolis Colts, he was only targeted once in 19 snaps, with that lone pass falling incomplete.
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To be fair to Carroll, however, he has been dropping defensive ends into coverage more, especially Snowden. In his 23 defensive snaps this season, he's dropped back into coverage eight times, and he's only given up one reception for eight yards.
Koonce, however, may be a disaster in coverage. He has only dropped back five times this season in 150 snaps, and only 16 times total in his career, so the experience is not there. Plus, he dropped back three times last week and got targeted on all three plays, giving up two catches for 14 yards.
Adams was always a relatively low-risk and high-reward proposition for the Silver and Black, but suddenly, he is arguably the most important player on the defense. If he can fill the void left by Pratt and help patch together some of the team's defensive issues, the Raiders have a chance in Week 6.
If he is not up to the task, then the Las Vegas defense may need to employ the skills of Snowden and Koonce in coverage, would would leave the defense incredibly porous once again. The Tennessee Titans aren't exactly world-beaters in the passing game, so this is a good place for Adams to flex his muscles and show why the Raiders were right to gamble on him this offseason.