- Jamal Adams will miss the 2026 season after hurting his right knee on a non-contact play Saturday.
- Adams was carted off early in the second quarter of Saturday’s 13-10 preseason win at the Giants.
- He had been taking heavy first-team reps at safety in Brian Flores’ three-safety packages before the injury.
- Minnesota is +2000 to win the NFC, the longest price among the four NFC North teams.
MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota Vikings safety Jamal Adams will miss the 2026 season with a right knee injury, NFL Network reported Sunday. He hurt the knee a day earlier on a non-contact play in a 13-10 preseason win at the New York Giants.
A Non-Contact Fall In The Second Quarter
Adams went down with 13:32 left in the second quarter at MetLife Stadium, on his 11th defensive snap. Working with the second team, he was covering a pass that became a 15-yard touchdown from Jaxson Dart to Malachi Fields, stumbled with no defender on him, and stayed down holding the right knee. A cart took him to the locker room.
Kevin O’Connell said after the game that he was “crushed” for Adams, that “we’re going to miss him,” and that the “initial exam does not look good”. The Vikings said Saturday that Adams would undergo further examination, and the imaging came Sunday.
Minnesota Sits Longest Among Its Division Rivals
NFC futures run on the board at most USA gambling sites. The Vikings are +2000 to win the conference, the longest price of the four NFC North teams. Detroit sits at +900, with Green Bay and Chicago both at +1200.
| Team | NFC Winner |
|---|---|
| Detroit Lions | +900 |
| Green Bay Packers | +1200 |
| Chicago Bears | +1200 |
| Minnesota Vikings | +2000 |
Odds via Bovada and move on light volume. Payouts, not forecasts.
Prices at Bovada sportsbook.
A +2000 price implies roughly 4.8%. That is what the number pays, not what Minnesota’s chance of winning the conference actually is, and the gap between those two figures is the whole of what a futures bet is about. Detroit’s +900 implies about 10%, the shortest of the four and still a long way from a favorite’s number.
A preseason injury to a rotational-package safety does not move a conference number on its own. What it removes is the specific thing that was going to make this defense look different in September, a second interchangeable safety who let Flores disguise coverage without substituting.
Flores Loses The Second Piece Of His Three-Safety Look
Adams signed before training camp as a linebacker and wore No. 54. A week in, the Vikings moved him to safety and he switched to No. 32, because league rules bar a safety from wearing a number above 49. Flores then used him in the box, over the slot and as one of two deep safeties alongside Joshua Metellus.
That was the point of the signing. Flores runs a defense built on defenders who can align anywhere without announcing the call, and Metellus has been the roster’s established version of that player. In camp, Adams was taking heavy first-team reps in three-safety packages.
Those looks now need a different third body, and Minnesota does not have an obvious one. Harrison Smith, the longtime Vikings starter, remains unsigned and has not officially retired.
The reps came quickly because of what Adams had done before. The 30-year-old went No. 6 overall to the New York Jets in 2017, made three Pro Bowls and a first-team All-Pro in 2019, and carries 22.5 career sacks, an outsized total for a defensive back.
Durability is the other half of the file. He played one game in 2022, nine in 2023 and five in 2024, before appearing in all 17 for the Las Vegas Raiders last season. Adams will not play in a game again until 2027.