Phillip Matthew Adams (July 20, 1988 – April 8, 2021) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the South Carolina State Bulldogs and was drafted in the seventh round of the

2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...

by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

. He also played for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

, and

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

. On April 7, 2021, Adams killed six people in

Rock Hill, South Carolina Rock Hill is the most populous city in York County, South Carolina, United States, and the List of municipalities in South Carolina, 5th-most populous city in the state. It is also the 4th-most populous city of the Charlotte metropolitan area, be ...

. The next day, he shot and killed himself following a standoff with police. He was posthumously diagnosed as suffering from the brain disease

chronic traumatic encephalopathy Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets wor ...

Early life

Phillip Matthew Adams was born on July 20, 1988, in

. He attended Rock Hill High School, where he played football and basketball.

College career

Adams attended

South Carolina State University South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It is the only public, historically black land-grant research university in South Carolina, is a member o ...

from 2006 to 2009. In his freshman year with the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is a stocky, muscular dog of medium size, with a large head, thick folds of skin around the face and shoulders and a rel ...

, Adams saw action as a

backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "wikt:back ...

and on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. He recorded 12 tackles and two

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s, along with a 30-yard

punt return Punt or punting may refer to: Boats * Punt (boat), a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow developed on the River Thames * Falmouth Quay Punt, a small sailing vessel hired by ships anchored in Falmouth harbour * Norfolk Punt, a type of racing ...

. As a sophomore with the

, he played in 11 games. As a junior, Adams ranked sixth on the team (with 48 tackles) and led the team in interceptions (with five) and

pass deflection In American football, a pass deflected, also known as a pass deflection, a pass defended, a pass , a pass knockdown, or a pass breakup, is an incomplete pass that is caused by a defensive player. This is done by slapping or blocking the ball with ...

s (with nine). In his senior year, he was a First Team All-

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and the Mid-A ...

selection after registering 48 tackles and three interceptions. That year, he also scored a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

on a pick six against Norfolk State.

Professional career

Adams was selected in the seventh round (224th overall) of the

by the

. In week 16 against the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

on December 26, 2010, he broke his left ankle while blocking on the opening kickoff of the second half. The injury required Adams to have surgery, which included several screws being inserted into his leg. He was released by the 49ers on September 3, 2011. On September 21, 2011, the

signed Adams and Landon Cohen after season-ending injuries to

Dan Koppen Daniel Koppen (born September 12, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a center for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos. Prior to entering the NFL in ...

and Myron Pryor. He was waived on October 8, then re-signed on October 13 after Mike Wright went on injured reserve. On October 14, Adams was once again released to make room for

Marcus Harrison Marcus Harrison (born July 10, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2008 NFL draft after playing ...

, but was re-signed on October 18. On November 21, Adams recorded his first interception in the NFL. He was waived again on November 29. On December 20, 2011, Adams was signed by the

. He made only one appearance for the Seahawks in 2011. On August 31, 2012, the Seahawks cut Adams. On September 1, 2012, Adams was signed by the

. Adams played in 15 of the Raiders' 16 games that year, with one interception (off of

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the In ...

) and 15 tackles. On December 28, 2012, he was placed on injured reserve. On March 12, 2013, he re-signed with the Raiders as a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...

. Adams appeared in all 16 games for the Raiders in 2013, with 30 tackles and a fumble recovery on the year. In his time with the Raiders, he suffered two

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

s over three games. Adams signed with the Seahawks again on March 27, 2014. On August 30, 2014, he was released after continued struggles in

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

. He was claimed off waivers by the

on September 1, 2014. In 2014 for the Jets, Adams had one interception and 24 tackles in 12 games for the team. Adams was signed by the

on March 12, 2015. He played in 13 games for the Falcons in 2015, with one interception and 38 tackles. On April 5, 2016, Adams had a workout with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

, but he did not return to the NFL. During training camp in 2016, the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

called and asked Adams to participate in practice the following day, but Adams missed his flight. According to his former agent, "He made it to the Charlotte airport, but the flight had left already. I could tell his head was not in it. He'd given up on it."

NFL career statistics

Shootings and death

On April 7, 2021, Adams shot six people at a house in

, killing five and fatally injuring a sixth who died on April 10. During a standoff with the police the next day, on April 8, Adams fatally shot himself, according to the York County Sheriff's Office. He was 32. Police said Adams' mother was inside the home during the standoff, but was "safely removed" before Adams killed himself. According to a neighbor, police used a

loudspeaker A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or, more fully, a speaker system) is a combination of one or more speaker drivers, an enclosure, and electrical connections (possibly including a crossover network). The speaker driver is an ...

and sent a robot into the house in a failed attempt to coax him out. Adams had no prior criminal record. His father, Alonzo, suggested that his football career may have played a role in the shooting, stating that the sport "messed him up". An autopsy revealed that Adams suffered from an "unusually severe" case of the brain disease

. He was one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated hits to the head.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Phillip 1988 births 2021 deaths 2021 suicides 21st-century American murderers American football cornerbacks American male criminals American mass murderers American murderers of children Atlanta Falcons players Crime in South Carolina Criminals from South Carolina Male murderers Male suicides Murder–suicides in South Carolina New England Patriots players New York Jets players Oakland Raiders players Players of American football from Rock Hill, South Carolina Players of American football with chronic traumatic encephalopathy Rock Hill High School (South Carolina) alumni San Francisco 49ers players Seattle Seahawks players South Carolina State Bulldogs football players Suicides by firearm in South Carolina People from Rock Hill, South Carolina 21st-century African-American people 2021 murders in the United States Players of American football from South Carolina 21st-century African-American sportsmen Sportspeople from Rock Hill, South Carolina American players of American football Murder–suicides in the United States Las Vegas Raiders players