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Raiders Add Terrell Edmunds, JPJ Banged Up, Adams’ Move to LB
The Raiders add a veteran safety, JPJ battles a rib injury, and we take a closer look at Jamal Adams’ growing role at linebacker.
Jesse Merrick
August 11, 2025
QUOTE OF THE DAY"Yeah, he (Pete Carroll) straight up told me, man, 'You're going to be in the linebacker room, so get over it.' So I was just like, 'Alright s**t, let's do it.'" — Jamal Adams, Raiders Linebacker, on his initial conversation with Pete Carroll about joining the Raiders. |  Photo Courtesy: Arnie Bazemore |
In today’s newsletter, we’re doing things a little differently and touching on a handful of topics. There’s a lot to get to today. The Raiders added a new safety to the group, we’ll dive into what Terrell Edmunds brings to the table, Jackson Powers-Johnson is dealing with a rib injury, and we tackle Jamal Adams’ move to linebacker.
RAIDERS BRING IN SAFETY HELP, SIGN TERRELL EDMUNDS
Photo Courtesy: Nathan Klok, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Raiders are bringing in some help on the back end. They signed former first round pick Terrell Edmunds on Sunday to bolster their safety depth after Lonnie Johnson Jr. broke his fibula in the team’s scrimmage on August 2 at Allegiant Stadium.
Lonnie Johnson Jr. was the first safety off the bench when the Raiders went to their “big nickel” package with Jeremy Chinn rolled up into the slot as the nickel. After Lonnie went down both Chris Smith II and Thomas Harper emerged as the likely replacements, but clearly the staff wants to add more competition for that spot.
Coming in at 6 feet 1 inch tall and 217 pounds, Edmunds brings more of the size and length this staff covets in their defensive backs. Both Chris Smith II and Thomas Harper are 5 feet 10 inches tall and listed at under two-hundred pounds. Size isn’t everything but this staff clearly places a big emphasis on it and Edmunds should come in and compete for that spot right away.
Edmunds brings a ton of experience to the table, having played in 101 career games for the Steelers, Eagles, Titans, and Jaguars. Over his career he’s racked up 451 tackles, including 17 for a loss, with 7 ½ sacks, six interceptions, and 20 pass breakups.
He also brings 4.47 speed to the table and is a willing tackler, he’ll just need to show this staff he can be counted on in coverage on the back end as the high safety opposite Isaiah Pola-Mao in that “big nickel” look.
THE JPJ SAGA CONTINUES
Photo Courtesy: Arnie Bazemore
It’s been a weird camp for Jackson Powers-Johnson. When the Raiders hit the field for their first day of training camp back on July 23, we all thought he was sharpied in as the starter at center, but he and Jordan Meredith started rotating between the first and second units at the position. Then it became clear that the staff was moving forward with Meredith as their starting center, so they kicked Jackson over to right guard, no big deal, he’s got experience at guard. We all thought he’d be a lock there, not so fast. He’s since traded reps with Alex Cappa (when he’s been healthy) at the position. Then there was practice on Sunday, JPJ was fully suited up but didn’t take part in 1-on-1s or in any team drills either, leaving us all scratching our heads. But Pete says it’s not as big a deal as we all made it out to be.
"He got hit (in) the ribs. He got punched in the ribs and tried to practice with it, and it was just sore. He's fine."
Okay, so don’t sound the alarms, but it still doesn’t change the fact that this whole competition with Jackson is something that’s surprised us all, including the fans. I think most of us agree that Jackson is likely the most talented interior offensive lineman the Raiders have, the question is, whether or not the staff feels that way. When Pete was asked if he’s seen what he’s wanted to see out of JPJ, he offered up these thoughts:
"Yeah, he's definitely a physical football player, and at the guard spot, playing next to Jordan (Meredith), it showed up. It seemed to be a bit of a factor. We need consistency. We need those guys working together. Jordan's coming a long way at the center spot, but he played a really solid game right out of the chute. So we played him a lot, and played almost to half time, and that was to just give him enough reps so that we could have stuff on film that we can work from. Same with JPJ (Jackson Powers-Johnson)."
Seems like he tiptoed around that one a bit, but let’s not overreact to any of this just yet.
In the mean time if you want more of a deep dive into this, and what’s going on with Alex Cappa, check out the latest episode of our podcast below.
MISS ANYTHING?
Catch up on some of our recent stories:
 Defense Struggles, Rookies Flash: Raiders vs. Seahawks Breakdown— Standouts, struggles, and storylines from the Raiders’ preseason debut — plus what it all means as the team gears up for the regular season. |  Geno Smith Lights It Up + Safety Depth Takes a Hit— Geno dazzled in the mock game —but a blow to the safety group could change things on the back end. |
JAMAL ADAMS REINVENTING HIMSELF AS A LINEBACKER
Photo Courtesy: Arnie Bazemore
Jamal Adams the linebacker, we’ve seen it since camp opened but it still seems a bit odd to be saying it (or writing it) out loud. We aren’t the only ones adjusting to it either, it’s a completely new experience in football for him.
“I've never played linebacker. Even in Pop Warner, man, it was just more so safety and running back. So those were kind of my positions just growing up. And obviously I'm just a football player, man. See ball, get ball."
So far, the transition has looked pretty seamless. He’s played well in practice and it translated to the field in the preseason opener in Seattle. In 15 snaps at Will linebacker Pro Football Focus credited Jamal with four tackles, one pressure, and even gave him the highest defensive grade of anyone on the team (89.8). Sure, it’s a small sample size against a bunch of backups, but Pete liked what he saw and says it’s no different than what he (and we) have seen at practice.
"I thought he was pretty flashy, like he's been in practice. He played like he's been practicing. He's been really obvious out there. He's real sudden, he's always been a very aggressive, attack-oriented player, that's what separated him from others in his past. And I thought he looked good and ran well. I was really, really happy for him. This is kind of my pulling for him to get back; it's been a long haul with a difficult injury. And shoot, I thought he played well."
It wasn’t all that long ago that Jamal was considered one of, if not the best, safeties in the league. From 2018 to 2020, he made three straight Pro Bowls, was named a two-time Second-team All-Pro, and earned First-team All-Pro honors in 2019. But then in the first game of the 2022 season, a brutal injury derailed the trajectory of his career.
"Obviously, man, tore my quad tendon off my kneecap, and obviously that's a two year recovery, two and a half year recovery, they say. And mentality wise, as a competitor, I was kind of like, 'I'm going to get back in a year,' which I did in 2023. Obviously, I just couldn't be myself. I couldn't really practice the way I wanted to, but mentally, it was definitely draining having to sit down when I didn't want to sit down. Obviously getting hurt game one and having to sit down for a whole year. I've never really been accustomed to that. And obviously it was different for me, very humbling, and for me to sit down and obviously just gain perspective, not even just football, just life after football, it was tough. It was a lot of dark days, but I fought through. I knew eventually I would get back out there, but it was going to take time, and it definitely did. So just to be where I'm at now, mentally and physically, I'm definitely back to who I am."
In today’s NFL, safety and weakside linebacker aren’t all that different, because the game is more wide open. Jamal told us the biggest adjustment for him now comes from viewing the game from a different angle.
"Well, obviously you're closer in the box, right? And you're understanding keys, you're shooting gaps, you're reading the running backs. So it's very similar in a lot of ways. But like I say, I always tell people, man, it's just a different lens. I'm closer to the guards and the tackles. They can get their hands on me. I got to obviously have great eyes to know what I'm looking at, having the right keys. And while you're in the back, you have a whole lens, a whole view of what's going on.”
The biggest advantage for Jamal at the position is undoubtedly his speed as a rusher. I’ve already seen offensive linemen have a hard time getting their hands on him at practice. He also proved to be very effective as a pass rusher in the past. From 2019-2020 he racked up 16 sacks. Those kinds of numbers are likely out of the question for him this season, he’s probably going to be a rotational player for the Raiders defense, but there’s no doubt he can be effective in that role for them and he’s just one of many players Patrick Graham has at his disposal who fit the mold of the “positionless player” that’s made it’s way into the NFL in recent years.
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OBSERVATIONS FROM PRACTICE
In their first team session on Sunday the Raiders worked a 3rd down blitz session. It was good on good (1s vs. 1s). The defense dominated that first series, forcing a pair of sacks and Tyree Wilson, who was rotating in along the d-line, even came away with a bat down at the line of scrimmage.
The offensive line as a whole had a bit of a rough day on Sunday and the young guys didn’t help their case at the end of practice. When they started working more cadence at the line of scrimmage they jumped offsides a handful of times.
Devin White has flashed at times throughout camp and on Sunday he laid the wood on Raheem Mostert. To be fair, Mostert had just caught a pass and had his back to Devin so he couldn’t brace for it much, but it was a hell of a hit.
Speaking of big hits, Chris Smith II totally rocked rookie receiver Tommy Mellott. Have to give credit to Tommy, he climbed the latter to go up and get a pass over the middle and absorbed a monster shoulder tackle from Smith. Mellot was clearly hurting after the hit but the kid still hauled in the catch, showed some nice toughness to get up and get back after it.
Adam Butler has been absent from practice the last couple of days. Pete Carroll said he’s off dealing with a family matter so send your thoughts and prayers his way.
While Butler’s been out rookie defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway has been getting some reps with the ones. Pete told me they like what they’re seeing out of the rookie so far and want to get him more work so they can really get a handle on what he brings to the table.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The Raiders are off today but they’ll be back at it the next three days starting on Tuesday morning.
The 49ers are also coming to town this week for a joint practice with the Raiders on Thursday. Those are always great. Players constantly tell us they often get more out of the joint practices than they do in the actual preseason games. So with that in mind, make sure you’re tapped into the Silver & Black Sports Network Podcast all week for the latest news and analysis from Raiders practice as they get set for their second preseason game of the year on Saturday.
Catch ya next time,
Silver & Black Sports Network is an independent media outlet. We are not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by the Las Vegas Raiders or the NFL.
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