Jamal Adams, the former first-round pick of the New York Jets, was back at MetLife Stadium on Sunday battling for a roster spot with the Minnesota Vikings.

But just two weeks after signing with his new club, it’s not looking great, as he was carted off in the first half of the Vikings’ 13-10 win due to a knee injury.

Adams was covering New York Giants receiver Calvin Austin III in the red zone when he had to start sprinting across the field to handle his route. But Adams fell down to the turf with a non-contact injury, it seemed, and he didn’t get up quickly.

A cart eventually came out onto the turf and brought Adams back to the Vikings’ locker room.

During an in-game interview, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell was asked about Adams’ knee injury, and the veteran sideline leader said it was “not good” after the first look at it.

“In such a short amount of time, Jamal has done such an unbelievable job coming here,” O’Connell said. “You feel his passion every single day. Certainly felt it spending a few moments with him before they took him in.

NFL PLAYERS MAY COLLECTIVELY BARGAIN FOR GRASS FIELDS IN FUTURE NEGOTIATIONS BUT IT WOULD COME AT A COST

“You’re just crushed for him, the role he was kind of paving for himself, and then just having a personality, experience, toughness that he brought in such a short amount of time. We’re going to miss him.”

The fact O’Connell is already saying the team is going to miss him says all you need to know about the severity of the injury for Adams.

It’s a shame considering he was having a great game up to that point, making a key stop on a run play by the Giants and flying around at his linebacker position.

Adams joined the Vikings just before training camp got underway on July 28, where he knew he’d have to battle for a roster spot for the upcoming season.

Heading into his 10th NFL season, Adams has known this feeling, which wasn’t there earlier in his career.

On that MetLife Stadium turf, Adams became a staple for the Jets after they took him sixth overall out of LSU in 2017. He made two Pro Bowls in 2018 and 2019, including a First Team All-Pro selection in the latter season after totaling 6.5 sacks, 75 tackles, two forced fumbles, one pick-six and seven passes defended across 14 games.

But after that season, the Jets traded Adams to the Seattle Seahawks, where he would spend his next four seasons. In 2024, he split time with the Tennessee Titans and Detroit Lions before finding a home with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025.

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Adams transitioned from safety to linebacker last season, and the Vikings were planning to do the same with the 30-year-old before this injury. Adams, though, views himself as a defensive Swiss Army knife, having the ability to be versatile if need be.

Now, Adams will hope that further testing can be graceful in terms of recovery despite non-contact knee injuries usually meaning the worst for athletes.

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THURSDAY’S RESULTS

Southern Section

Agoura 38, Buena 0

Canyon Country Canyon 75, PACS 0

Castaic 19, Burbank Burroughs 0

Channel Islands 26, Rio Mesa 13

Corona Centennial 6, El Dorado 0

Corona Santiago 35, Great Oak 14

Crean Lutheran 7, Capistrano Valley 6

Dos Pueblos 28, Santa Ynez 6

El Toro 26, Dana Hills 0

Fillmore 45, Del Sol 0

Gahr 54, Dominguez 6

Hacienda Heights Wilson 7, Garey 0

Hart 12, Royal 6

Hemet 18, Murrieta Valley 7

Indio 21, Canyon Springs 0

Katella 19, Norwalk 0

Lancaster 32, Rosamond 6

Newport Beach Pacifica Christian 51, Loara 7

Nogales 26, Mountain View 12

Oxnard Pacifica 19, Newbury Park 18

Paramount 14, Fairmont Prep 7

Redondo Union 27, Santa Monica 7

Saddleback 8, Century 6

Santa Barbara 38, Hueneme 12

Saugus 26, St. Bonaventure 0

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 22, Oaks Christian 0

Sonora 14, Portola 12

Thousand Oaks 27, Long Beach Wilson 20

Ventura 27, Santa Paula 0

Westlake 61, Simi Valley 12

Intersectional

Bakersfield Christian 19, Highland 6

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

City Section

Franklin 33, Garfield 13

Hollywood 39, West Adams 0

Los Ángeles Marshall 29, Monroe 0

Los Ángeles Marshall 7, Sotomayor 0

Sotomayor 19, Monroe 0

Southern Section

Agoura 12, Cypress 7

Azusa 20, Northview 19

Beckman 32, Mira Costa 13

Bonita 13, La Serna 6

Cantwell-Sacred Heart 26, Whitney 7

Compton 32, Huntington Park 0

Cypress 13, Warren 12

Dos Pueblos 28, Classical Academy 12

Dos Pueblos 13, Redondo Union 7

Edison 13, Long Beach Poly 0

El Rancho 45, El Monte 0

Fountain Valley 26, Capistrano Valley 6

Highland 50, Rosamond 0

Huntington Beach 7, Classical Academy 0

Huntington Beach 18, Redondo Union 0

JSerra 24, Camarillo 0

JSerra 19, Westlake 6

Lakewood St. Joseph 40, Corona 6

Long Beach Wilson 7, Santa Ana Valley 0

Los Altos 13, San Gabriel 0

Montebello 18, Bell Gardens 0

Newport Harbor 25, Aliso Niguel 0

Newport Harbor 7, Oxnard 0

Northwood 6, Rosary 0

Orange Lutheran 16, Oxnard 6

Orange Lutheran 27, Aliso Niguel 0

Palos Verdes 43, Desert Hot Springs 0

Shadow Hills 25. Cathedral City 0

Sierra Canyon 25, Long Beach Poly 13

St. Margaret’s 13, Agoura 6

St. Margaret’s 21, Warren 20

Ventura 28, Fullerton 0

Villa Park 13, Anaheim Canyon 0

Western Christian 20, Tesoro 6

Woodbridge 40, Wiseburn-Da Vinci 0

Woodbridge 36, Ventura 0

Intersectional

Beckman 21, Narbonne 0

Bonita Vista 20, Sierra Canyon 12

Compton 32, Huntington Park 0

Edison 13, Bonita Vista 0

Esperanza 18, Panorama 13

Mira Costa 13, Mira Mesa 12

Mira Mesa 6, Narbonne 0

Tesoro 13, Panorama 6

Torrey Pines 12, Westlake 7

Torrey Pines 7, Camarillo 6

SATURDAY’S RESULTS

Southern Section

Anaheim Canyon 39, Los Osos 0

Anaheim Canyon 35, South El Monte 7

Baldwin Park 21, Gabrielino 13

Beaumont 38, Long Beach Wilson 0

Beckman 26, Tesoro 24

Bishop Amat 7, La Serna 6

Bonita 34, Don Lugo 0

Bonita 47, Covina 6

Bonita 25, Chino Hills 0

Cerritos 52, Keppel 0

Chaminade 7, San Marcos 0

Chaminade 20, West Ranch 0

Chaparral 20, Newport Beach Pacifica Christian 0

Chino Hills 26, Covina 6

Colony 19, Corona 13

Corona Centennial 40, Kaiser 6

Corona del Mar 13, Trabuco Hills 12

Corona del Mar 19, Bishop Amat 6

Covina 35, Don Lugo 6

Don Lugo 6, Chino Hills 6

Glendora 61, Arroyo 0

Great Oak 26, Newport Beach Pacifica Christian 0

Irvine University 18, Crean Lutheran 0

JSerra 27, Orange Lutheran 6

JSerra 28, Dos Pueblos 0

JSerra 23, Newport Harbor 6

Linfield Christian 32, Temecula Valley 6

La Serna 20, Cajon 6

Los Osos 24, Colton 2

Mira Costa 13, Western Christian 9

Newport Harbor 13, Edison 0

Newport Harbor 14, Huntington Beach 0

Norco 21, Patriot 6

Norco 19, Murrieta Mesa 12

Oxnard 20, Long Beach Poly 7

Oxnard Pacifica 19, West Ranch 6

Oxnard Pacifica 6, Chaminade 0

Quartz Hill 0, Valencia 0

Redlands 31, Banning 0

Riverside King 41, San Jacinto 0

Riverside King 49, Canyon Springs 0

Riverside King 29, Patriot 7

San Marcos 21, Oxnard Pacifica 7

San Marcos 32, West Ranch 0

St. Lucy’s 16, Alhambra 6

Temecula Valley 21, Temecula Prep 0

Tesoro 20, St. Margaret’s 6

Upland 19, El Dorado 12

Upland 12, Hart 0

Ventura 25, St. Margaret’s 15

VIsta Murrieta 62, San Jacinto 0

Vista Murrieta 32, Canyon Springs 0

Warren 19, Esperanza 6

Warren 32, Fullerton 6

Western Christian 12, Agoura 6

Westlake 20, Oxnard 13

Westlake 20, Redondo Union 14

Woodbridge 18, Agoura 8

Intersectional

Bonita Vista 13, Dos Pueblos 6

Downey 44, San Pedro 0

Edison 19, Torrey Pines 0

Esperanza 14, Narbonne 6

Huntington Beach 25, Torrey Pines 7

Mira Mesa 14, Panorama 7

Mira Mesa 20, Cypress 14

Narbonne 12, Fullerton 0

Orange Lutheran 6, Bonita Vista 0

Panorama 27, Wiseburn-Da Vinci 0

Warren 20, Mira Mesa 0

It may not have come as a surprise to people that Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell quickly named Kyler Murray the starting quarterback of his offense over J.J. McCarthy, the team’s 2024 first-round selection.

But a recent report indicates that it’s more than just what happened on the training camp practice field between Murray and McCarthy that may have factored into such a quick decision.

It was last summer when some within the Vikings organization were concerned that McCarthy, who missed his entire rookie season due to a knee injury and struggled with consistency in 2025, was “unpredictable,” according to CBS Sports.

In fact, some believed that Max Brosmer, who was an undrafted free agent added to the quarterbacks room, should’ve been the one under center for Minnesota in Week 1.

That wasn’t the case, but the Vikings made it quite known after watching McCarthy complete 57.6% of his passes and throw 11 touchdowns to 12 interceptions across 10 games – Minnesota went 6-4 over that span – they were in the quarterback market this offseason.

KYLER MURRAY AND JJ MCCARTHY GIVE WILDLY DIFFERENT ANSWERS ABOUT THEIR VIKINGS QB ROOM DYNAMIC

“A franchise quarterback is supposed to be the stability piece of a franchise, like you know what you’re getting every day. But with J.J., you weren’t sure which version you were going to get,” the source said to the outlet. “I think he’s just still so young and may not have understood yet what that position fully entails and things like the consistency and day-to-day commitment.”

The Vikings landed Murray, the former No. 1 overall pick of the Arizona Cardinals, who moved on from him after a roller-coaster tenure in the desert.

And before they faced the New York Giants for their first preseason bout of the 2026 NFL season, the Vikings came right out and named Murray their starter.

So, what exactly does McCarthy’s future hold as he’s in Year 3 and serving as a backup now? One defensive coach told CBS Sports that “he is talented,” though he needs to “learn how to manage a game and not do too much and not do more than what’s required of him.” If that happens, perhaps the Vikings, or a different team, can trust him in a starting role.

But that’s the thing: is it too soon to discuss McCarthy playing for a different team already? The Vikings do have a new GM, Nolan Teasley, who is not tied to McCarthy’s selection. That was Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, whom the Vikings fired this past offseason.

There’s also the injury factor that hasn’t allowed McCarthy to really get going after winning a national championship with Michigan and being a top 10 pick to the Vikings. The sample size is only 10 games, and though his quarterback rating was the second worst among signal callers with more than 155 pass attempts, there were some flashes of good quarterback play.

And then there’s his age. McCarthy is only 23 years old and can still grow and develop within the position. But he still has tons to prove.

The only problem is Murray, who has proven more in his career thus far, is someone O’Connell trusts more right now with his offense. And O’Connell knows what works — just look at what he did with Sam Darnold in 2024 while McCarthy was injured throughout the season. Darnold went on to revive his career and ultimately win the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks this past season.

One can’t blame Vikings fans if they believe O’Connell can revitalize Murray’s career, but they certainly will hope so after the announcement was made. Meanwhile, McCarthy will have to keep working and wait for that next moment to prove himself.

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In his first preseason work with the Vikings on Saturday against the Giants, McCarthy went 4-of-7 for 34 yards with a sack. Carson Wentz , who is battling for the backup role behind Murray as well, went 6-of-11 for 56 yards with one touchdown pass to Myles Price.

Murray played the opening series for the Vikings, connecting on two of his three pass attempts, including a third-and-7 strike to keep a scoring drive alive.

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