When veteran defender Jamal Adams joined the Vikings, the team assigned him a traditional linebacker number: 54. He recently switched to 32.
And while he’s still officially listed in the team’s online roster as a linebacker, the change means Adams will be playing plenty of safety — his original NFL position.
Adams anticipates being deployed at both positions.
“I was telling some people inside the training room, just to have somebody believe in me again, and to know I can go back there and play the safety position, it feels great,” Adams said, via Lindsey Young of Vikings.com. “I can kind of do it all in the back end. I just want to be versatile and do anything I can to help the team.
“The key is winning. So whatever they need me to do, I’m going to do. That’s what I’m here for.”
Adams reiterated prior comments regarding the long road back to full health after tearing a quad tendon in Week 1 of the 2022 season.
“When I got hurt in ’22, and then . . . those two or three years, I felt like I lost a little bit off my career,” Adams said. “So for me, it’s like a rebirth. There was a lot of adversity I went through, and I knew eventually I was going to make it out of that hole, but it was going to take time — and it took longer than I expected. But mentally and physically, I had to rebrand myself, be better on and off the field as far as my mentals and how I approached the game.
“I have a different perspective. It’s a different perspective on not only football but just life. Just being grateful and being happy where I am. Being where my feet are and just embracing the opportunity.”
Adams’s versatility fits perfectly with the Brian Flores defense, which uses chaos and unpredictability to rattle nerves and create mismatches. Adams could end up being a key piece of the Minnesota attack.