Late on Monday, the Minnesota Vikings reportedly reached a deal with three-time Pro Bowl defender Jamal Adams, according to independent NFL insider Jordan Schultz. During the early part of his NFL career, Adams mainly lined up at safety, but with the Las Vegas Raiders last season, he took the majority of his snaps at linebacker.
With Adams' arrival, some might believe it signals the end of Harrison Smith potentially returning to the Vikings for the 2026 campaign. However, it seems like Smith playing again for Minnesota this year is still possible, as CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz shared on Monday that Adams is expected to continue lining up at linebacker just as he did with the Raiders in 2025.
So for those Vikings fans who worried about the team's latest addition ending the chance of Smith taking the field in purple and gold again this upcoming season, it doesn't seem like the door has been shut on that just yet.
Addition of Jamal Adams shouldn't close the door on a possible Harrison Smith return to the Minnesota Vikings
While Minnesota signing Adams might not mean anything for Smith's future with the team, what does his arrival mean for the rest of the Vikings' roster, specifically the inside linebackers?
It's safe to assume Blake Cashman, Eric Wilson, and rookie Jake Golday are all locks to make Minnesota's final 53-man roster for the 2026 season. Beyond those three, however, everyone else's battle for a roster spot just got at least a little tougher following the Vikings' addition of Adams.
Ivan Pace Jr. is someone who most will think is on the chopping block after Minnesota's signing on Monday. But Pace has been playing in Brian Flores' defense his entire NFL career, so that should at least give him some sort of advantage over Adams this summer.
If anything, the signing of Adams was done to add some experience to the depth of the Vikings' inside linebacker group. Behind Cashman, Wilson, and Pace, none of Minnesota's other five inside linebackers have ever started a regular-season game in the NFL.
Adams has started 87 games since entering the league in 2017, when he was drafted by the New York Jets with the No. 6 overall pick.
Despite the fact that this will be Adams' 10th season in the NFL if he makes the Vikings' final roster, he's still only 30-years-old. So, it's totally possible that he could remain in the league for another handful of seasons if all goes well.
For now, Minnesota will be hoping that joining a talented defense led by Flores will help things go well for Adams in 2026.
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