San Francisco 49ers 2004 On April 28, 2004, the
San Francisco 49ers signed Adams to a three-year,
$879,885 contract as an
undrafted free agent. On November 14, 2004, Adams made his professional regular season debut in their 49ers' 37–27 loss in Week 10. On November 28, 2004, Adams recorded a season-high three combined tackles, a pass deflection, and made his first career interception off a pass by quarterback
A. J. Feeley during a 24–17 loss to the
Miami Dolphins in Week 12. He finished his rookie season in with nine combined tackles (four solo), a pass deflection, and an interception in eight games and zero starts.
2005 On January 6, 2005, the San Francisco 49ers fired head coach Dennis Erickson after they finished with a 2–14 record. Defensive coordinator
Billy Davis held an open competition to name a starting free safety. Adams competed for the role against Ronnie Heard, Keith Lewis, and
Mike Rumph, while also seeing time at cornerback. Head coach
Mike Nolan named Adams the third-string free safety to start the regular season, behind Mike Rumph and Keith Lewis. He was also named the first-team nickelback to begin the regular season. He appeared in the
San Francisco 49ers' season-opener against the
St. Louis Rams and recorded four solo tackles, two pass deflections, an interception, and made his first career sack on quarterback
Marc Bulger in their 28–25 victory. On October 2, 2005, Adams earned his first career start and recorded three solo tackles during a 31–14 victory against the
Arizona Cardinals in Week 4. On January 1, 2006, Adams recorded six combined tackles, three pass deflections, and intercepted two pass attempts by
David Carr during a 20–17 victory against the
Houston Texans in Week 17. Adams completed the season with 74 combined tackles (57 solo), five pass deflections, four interceptions, and a sack in 14 games and ten starts. Head coach Mike Nolan named Adams the starting free safety to begin the regular season, opposite strong safety Tony Parrish. He started in the
San Francisco 49ers' season-opener at the
Arizona Cardinals and collected a season-high eight combined tackles in their 34–27 loss. In Week 8, he tied his season-high of eight combined tackles during a 41–10 loss at the
Chicago Bears. In Week 9, Adams was demoted to being a backup behind Keith Lewis and was also relegated to being a nickelback. He finished the season with 64 combined tackles (54 solo) and three pass deflections in 16 games and eight starts. Head coach
Romeo Crennel named Adams the backup free safety, behind Brodney Pool, to begin the regular season. In Week 11, Adams had one tackle and made his second career sack on quarterback
Kyle Boller during a 33–30 victory at the
Baltimore Ravens. On December 2, 2007, he collected a season-high five solo tackles in the Browns' 27–21 loss at the
Arizona Cardinals in Week 13. Adams was limited to a backup role and did not receive any starts in 2007, but managed to finish the season with 29 combined tackles (27 solo), a pass deflection, and a sack in 16 games. He started in the
Cleveland Browns' season-opener against the
Dallas Cowboys and recorded eight solo tackles in their 28–10 loss. Adams earned the start after Brodney Pool was inactive due to a concussion he suffered during the preseason. The following week, he started in place of Sean Jones who was inactive for the next four games (Weeks 2–6) after undergoing
arthroscopic knee surgery. In Week 3, Adams made his second start at strong safety in place of Jones and recorded four combined tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception during a 28–10 loss at the
Baltimore Ravens. On October 13, 2008, he collected a season-high five solo tackles in the Browns' 35–14 win against the
New York Giants in Week 6. Adams sustained a
hamstring injury and was sidelined for two games (Weeks 7–8). He finished the season with 44 combined tackles (36 solo), two pass deflections, and two interceptions in 14 games and five starts.
2009 On March 5, 2009, the Cleveland Browns signed Adams to a three-year, $4.10 million contract. Throughout training camp, Adams competed for the starting strong safety job against
Abram Elam after Sean Jones departed for the
Philadelphia Eagles during free agency. Head coach
Eric Mangini named Adams the primary backup safety to start the regular season, behind starters Abram Elam and Brodney Pool. On November 29, 2009, Adams recorded a season-high ten combined tackles (six solo) during a 16–7 loss at the
Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12. He came in during the second quarter after Brodney Pool sustained a concussion. On December 2, 2009, head coach Eric Mangini named Adams the starting free safety for the remainder of the season due to expectations that Pool would miss the rest of the season after sustaining a concussion. He completed the season with 69 combined tackles (58 solo), eight pass deflections, and a sack in 16 games and nine starts. Head coach Eric Mangini named Adams the backup free safety to start the season, behind Abram Elam. He started in the
Cleveland Browns' at the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers and collected seven combined tackles, made a season-high three pass deflections, and an interception in their 17–14 loss. Adams was inactive for the Browns' Week 11 loss at the
Jacksonville Jaguars due to an abdomen injury. On December 5, 2010, Adams recorded three combined tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception in the Browns' 13–10 victory at the
Miami Dolphins in Week 13. He intercepted a pass by quarterback
Chad Henne that was deflected by Browns defensive lineman
David Bowens and returned it 25-yards to the two-yard line. His interception set up a 23-yard game-winning field goal by
Phil Dawson as time expired in the fourth quarter. He finished the season with 45 combined tackles (39 solo), six pass deflections, two interceptions, and a sack in 15 games and two starts. During training camp, Adams competed to be the starting free safety against
Usama Young. Head coach
Pat Shurmur named Adams the starter to begin the regular season, along with strong safety
T. J. Ward. In Week 4, he made two solo tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by
Jake Locker during a 31–13 loss to the
Tennessee Titans. It marked his second consecutive game with an interception. On December 8, 2011, Adams collected a season-high ten combined tackles (six solo), broke up a pass, and intercepted a pass by
Ben Roethlisberger in the Browns' 14–3 loss at the
Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14. He completed the season with 64 combined tackles (44 solo), six pass deflections, and three interceptions in 16 games and 16 starts.
Denver Broncos On March 15, 2012, the
Denver Broncos signed Adams to a two-year, $4 million contract with $250,000 guaranteed. Head coach
John Fox named Adams the starting strong safety to start the regular season, alongside free safety Rahim Moore. in
2012. In Week 3, Adams collected six combined tackles and a season-high three pass deflections during a 31–25 loss to the
Houston Texans. Adams completed the season with 80 combined tackles (60 solo), 11 pass deflections, a sack, and a safety in 16 games and 16 starts.
2013 Throughout training camp, Adams competed to retain his starting strong safety role against
David Bruton,
Duke Ihenacho, and
Quentin Jammer. Head coach John Fox named Adams the backup strong safety to start the season, behind Duke Ihenacho. In Week 10, Adams earned his first start of the season after Duke Ihenacho was inactive after injuring his ankle the previous week. Adams finished the Broncos' 28–20 victory at the
San Diego Chargers with four combined tackles. He finished the season with 64 combined tackles (48 solo), six pass deflections, and an interception in 16 games and seven starts. Before the start of
Super Bowl XLVIII, Adams vowed to walk about from MetLife Stadium back to his childhood home if the Broncos were victorious. On February 2, 2014, Adams recorded six solo tackles as the Broncos lost to the
Seattle Seahawks 43–8.
2014 Adams became an unrestricted free agent after the 2013 season and received interest from several teams, including the
San Francisco 49ers,
New York Jets,
Cleveland Browns, and
New England Patriots.
Indianapolis Colts On June 14, 2014, the
Indianapolis Colts signed Adams to a one-year, $1.01 million contract that includes $65,000 guaranteed. Throughout training camp, he competed for a job as the starting strong safety against
Delano Howell,
David Sims,
Colt Anderson, and
Sergio Brown. Head coach
Chuck Pagano named him the starting strong safety to begin the regular season, alongside free safety Sergio Brown. On September 28, 2014, Adams made a season-high three pass deflections and made two interceptions by
Charlie Whitehurst and
Zach Mettenberger during a 41–17 victory against the
Tennessee Titans in Week 4. In Week 8, he recorded a season-high 11 combined tackles (eight solo) during a 51–34 loss at the
Pittsburgh Steelers. On December 23, 2014, Adams was named as an alternate player for the
2014 Pro Bowl. Adams completed the season with a career-high 87 combined tackles (67 solo), 11 pass deflections, and five interceptions in 16 games and 16 starts. On January 20, 2015, it was announced that Adams would be playing in the 2015 Pro Bowl as a replacement for Kam Chancellor, who was unable to attend due to his participation in
Super Bowl XLIX.
2015 On March 10, 2015, the Indianapolis Colts re-signed Adams to a two-year, $4.85 million contract with $1.20 million guaranteed. On October 8, 2015, Adams recorded four combined tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted two passes by
Brian Hoyer and
Ryan Mallett during a 27–20 win at the
Houston Texans in Week 5. The following week, Adams recorded three combined tackles, broke up a pass, and returned an interception for touchdown in the Colts' 34–27 loss to the
New England Patriots in Week 6. He intercepted a pass to
Julian Edelman that was thrown by Tom Brady and returned it for a 14-yard touchdown in the second quarter. The touchdown was his second score of his career and first one since 2005. He was inactive for the Colts' Week 7 loss to the
New Orleans Saints after injuring his hamstring the previous week. In Week 9, Adams made one tackle, a pass deflection, and an interception, but exited the Colts' 27–25 win against the
Denver Broncos in the third quarter after injuring his ankle. His ankle injury sidelined him for the next to games (Weeks 11–12). On December 6, 2015, Adams collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (11 solo) in the Colts' 35–10 loss at the
Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13. The following week, he recorded four solo tackles and sacked quarterback
Blake Bortles during a 51–16 loss at the
Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 14. He finished the season with 75 combined tackles (52 solo), six pass deflections, a career-high five interceptions, and a sack in 13 games and 13 starts.
2016 On January 6, 2016, the Indianapolis Colts fired defensive coordinator
Greg Manusky and safeties coach
Roy Anderson after they finished 8–8 behind a struggling defense. Defensive coordinator
Ted Monachino retained Adams as the starting strong safety. Head coach Chuck Pagano named him the starter to begin the season, along with free safety
Clayton Geathers. On October 16, 2016, Adams collected a season-high nine combined tackles in the Colts' 26–23 loss at the
Houston Texans in Week 6. Adams was sidelined for the Colts' Week 9 win at the
Green Bay Packers after injuring his groin the previous week. He finished the season with 79 combined tackles (62 solo), two pass deflections, and two interceptions in 15 games and 15 starts.
2017 On March 6, 2017, Adams announced that the Indianapolis Colts informed him of their intentions to not offer him a contract or re-sign him. At age 36, Adams had three successful seasons with the Colts that earned him appearances in two Pro Bowls. The Colts decided to go with their younger core of safeties in Clayton Geathers,
T. J. Green, and
Darius Butler.
Carolina Panthers On March 10, 2017, the
Carolina Panthers signed Adams to a two-year, $4.20 million contract with $1.15 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $650,000. On October 1, 2017, Adams collected a season-high seven solo tackles and two pass deflections in the Panthers' 33–30 victory at the
New England Patriots in Week 4. The
Carolina Panthers finished second in the
NFC South with an 11–5 record and received a wildcard berth. On January 7, 2018, Adams started in the NFC Wildcard Game and recorded four combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by quarterback
Drew Brees during the Panthers' 31–26 loss at the
New Orleans Saints. In Week 5 of the 2018 season, Adams recorded his fifth career game with two interceptions in the 33–31 victory over the New York Giants.
Houston Texans On September 30, 2019, Adams was signed by the
Houston Texans. Adams announced his retirement from the NFL on
Good Morning Football on March 4, 2020. ==NFL coaching career==