Jamal Adams has been bright spot in Raiders’ lost season

Any time a team goes into the last game of the season with a 2-14 record, it’s hard to find anything positive.

That is largely the case for the Raiders, who end the season Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. However, there are some exceptions.

One of those exceptions is veteran Jamal Adams, who arrived in Las Vegas coming off an unlucky three-year run in which injuries limited him to just 15 games.

It was a big-time fall for one of the most physical players in the league. And it cast major doubt that Adams could ever get through a full season without getting hurt, let alone come close to being the dominant force he’d been over his first five NFL seasons.

The lifeline the Raiders threw Adams before the start of training camp offered him a chance to get his career back on track, but it came with a stipulation: He would be switching positions from safety to linebacker.

Adams has not only played in all 16 games so far, but he’s also handled his new assignment admirably, recording 41 tackles, a sack, two quarterback hits and four tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

The peace of mind it has created for one of the most fearsome players of his era is incalculable.

“That was amazing,” Adams said. “Obviously, it was one of my goals that I wanted to complete.”

Massive setback

In a season nearly devoid of good stories, Adams bucked the trend.

“I’m happy for him,” defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said. “Having gone through those injuries and things of that nature, for him to be able to get a whole season in and be able to be out there playing football, and I’m sure he’s finding joy in that. So, I’m happy for him.”

It wasn’t just that Adams was hurt over the last few years. It was the type of injuries, plus the mental and physical tolls they took on him.

In 2022, Adams sustained a left quadriceps injury in which the muscle tore off his kneecap. Adams was with the Seattle Seahawks at the time, and Pete Carroll was his coach.

In retrospect, Adams should have used every second of the next two years to get his leg right. But the competitor in him nixed that. Remarkably, he was back on the field the next season.

He soon discovered it’s one thing to be on the field, but it was different to play to the standard he had always demanded of himself.

“I just couldn’t be myself,” Adams said. “I couldn’t really practice the way I wanted to.”

Long and winding road

That began a two-year odyssey in 2023 and 2024 in which he played on three teams and was limited to just 14 games. At no point was he even close to being the player he was when he went to three straight Pro Bowls from 2018-2020.

“Things happen in this game, and obviously, I got hurt, and that kind of knocked me down,” Adams said. “I had to kind of start all over with my whole kind of career and just pushing forward.

“And whatever opportunity got thrown my way, just try to conquer it.”

So much so that when Carroll called offering a chance to play for the Raiders, but at linebacker rather than safety, Adams was all in.

Sixteen games later, that transition felt seamless.

Adams has played 409 defensive snaps this season, or just under 39 percent of the total snaps, and according to Pro Football Focus, has a team-high linebacker grade of 67.2 out of 100.

“It’s cool, man,” Adams said. “Obviously, it’s a different opportunity, a different perspective. But, man, again, I’m just grateful for the opportunity.

”I just want to continue to learn that position and get better at it.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.