CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WNCN) – Being one of the NFL’s longest tenured defensive players is no small feat. That’s especially true for Carolina safety Mike Adams, who found a way into the league after going undrafted in the 2004 NFL Draft.
The 37-year-old defensive back doesn’t like using the past tense when he’s talking about the game. He still believes he’s playing at a high level, and the numbers back it up. He ranks third on the team with 63 tackles (41 solo) and second among Panthers with three interceptions.
“I don’t say, ‘I did it.’ I say, ‘I’m doing it.’ I say ‘I’m doing it’ because I want to continue to play at a high level,” Adams said. “‘Did it’ is like a past tense.”
Adams has a lot to take pride in when he reflects on his career up until this point. He said he was blown away when someone told him he was the last remaining defensive back from his draft class — a class in which he wasn’t even a selection.
He’s also one of the only people in the Carolina locker room to have sacked Cam Newton. While playing with Denver — one of now five teams he’s played for — Adams came all the way down and brought down the Panther quarterback for one of his six career sacks.
“And I gave him the Superman sign, too, when I did it,” he laughed.
But Adams still has goals. He wants to lead the league in receptions. Doing so would help the Panthers snap out of a four-game losing streak that’s put them on the outside of the postseason looking in.