On July 27, veteran safety Jamal Adams announced that he is signing with the Minnesota Vikings as the team’s training camp is underway. Adams will bring plenty of experience to the Vikings’ defense, which looks to carry over their performance from last season.
Last season with the Las Vegas Raiders, Adams earned a 67.3 overall PFF defensive grade while playing 448 total snaps. The veteran recorded 38 solo tackles, generated seven total pressures, one sack, allowed a 98.6 passer rating when targeted in coverage, and was charged with 12 missed tackles.
With Adams being a safety, there’s concern that this might have a connection to the future of Harrison Smith, who has yet to decide whether he’ll play this 2026 NFL season.
Nonetheless, ESPN’s Kevin Seifert addressed speculation surrounding Adams’ signing and Harrison Smith’s future.
“Jamal Adams is a good source, but just in case his X post left anything vague, he did indeed agree to terms with the Vikings,” Seifert wrote on X on July 27. “For those asking about a connection to Harrison Smith’s future, remember that he was a linebacker — not a safety — last year for Las Vegas.”
Vikings Insider on Harrison Smith Situation
Last season, Smith showed that he can still produce despite being in his late 30s. He was out on the field for 793 total snaps, leading to a 68.9 defensive grade.
Furthermore, the Vikings veteran allowed an 81.0 passer rating when targeted by opposing quarterbacks. Smith surrendered 21 receptions in coverage and also contributed 42 solo tackles in run support and open-field situations. Recently, Alec Lewis of The Athletic shared the latest on Smith’s situation.
“[Smith] just completed a career where down the backstretch he looked like the Harrison Smith that everybody’s kind of become accustomed to,” Lewis said on the June 23 edition of “The Alec Lewis Show.” “You guys probably even more than me, having watched him longer than I have. But really, the fact that Brian Flores stayed around as the defensive coordinator was a huge marker to him being interested in returning.
“And now it’s just kind of a waiting game. I don’t expect an answer next week. I don’t expect an answer even in July [and] I think this thing could play out into training camp and potentially even the early part of the season for Harrison Smith to evaluate where his body is, where his mind is in terms of how much he really wants to give this thing another go.”
Harrison Smith Gets Major Prediction for 2026 Season
Meanwhile, in June, former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber predicted when he could see the safety potentially return if he decides to play this season.
“I could see him coming back and saying, ‘Okay, I’ll use the bye week to sort of make sure that I’m in football shape. Maybe be on a snap count for the first game or two after that,‘” Leber said in a June 14 video on his YouTube channel.
“And then after that, he’s playing full-time. But I get the sense that he’s not done. He’ll play for part of the season, but I think that’s a major factor because we saw what happens when he’s not in the lineup.”
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