Jamal Adams

Latest On Titans S Jamal Adams

July 13th, 2024 at 6:41pm CST by Adam La Rose

Jamal Adams was one of many veteran safeties who was released this offseason, with his Seahawks tenure ending amidst injury issues. The former All-Pro had a lengthy stay on the free agent market before signing a one-year Titans deal.

That pact is worth the veteran minimum, a stark contrast to Adams’ Seattle contract. It comes as little surprise, however, considering the LSU alum was limited to a single contest in 2022 and then nine games last year. Adams will aim to put together a healthy campaign this season, something which will be required for him to generate a notable market in free agency next spring.

During an appearance on The Official Titans Podcast, the 28-year-old noted that he had not healed in full by the start of the 2023 campaign as he continued rehabbing his torn quad (video link). Last season saw Adams suffer a knee injury and spend considerable time on the sidelines, but it also hindered his effectiveness when on the field. Struggles in coverage in particular were present during the closing stages of his Seahawks tenure. Questions have been raised about Adams’ NFL future, but he remains confident regarding his ability to rebound – in part due to the fact his health is now in a better place.

“I’ve always had a chip on my shoulder for a long, long time,” Adams said. “For me, it’s more so I’m not trying to prove anyone wrong, I’m more so trying to prove myself right. I’m trying to get back out there to prove myself, that I’m still that guy and I still can play. Whether anyone believes in me or not, as long as I believe in myself that’s what matters.”

By joining the Titans, Adams reunited with Dennard Wilson. Tennessee’s new defensive coordinator served as the Jets’ defensive backs coach when Adams was in New York, and that familiarity could lead to a notable role in Nashville. Needless to say, plenty will be riding on Adams’ ability to remain healthy in 2024, and his performance with his new team will be interesting to monitor.

Titans, S Jamal Adams Agree To Deal

July 12th, 2024 at 11:10am CST by Adam La Rose

JULY 12: Per Ari Meirov of the 33rd Team, Adams’ deal is one year in length and it qualifies for the veteran salary benefit. After being attached to a Seahawks deal worth $17.5MM per year prior to his release, Adams will therefore earn $1.13MM in 2024.

JULY 11: One of the many veteran safeties still on the market has found a new home. Jamal Adams has an agreement in place with the Titans, ESPN’s Turron Davenport notes. The move is now official, per a team announcement. Adams’ agent confirmed (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter) that this is a one-year accord.

Tennessee was known to be interested in making an addition at the safety spot earlier this offseason. The team had not been publicly connected to any of the available options at the position recently, however. Nevertheless, Adams will provide the Titans with an experienced secondary option as he aims to deliver a healthy campaign and restore his free agent value in the process.

Adams recently visited the Titans, the team announced Thursday. That summit quickly produced this agreement, one which will thin the safety market to a degree once training camps open around the league later this month. The 28-year-old was (alongside Quandre Diggs) let go by the Seahawks in a cost-shedding move earlier this offseason. Adams remained in contact with Seattle after the draft, but instead of re-joining the team on a less expensive pact he will return to the AFC in 2024.

Interestingly, a potential Seattle reunion was contemplated (on the team’s side) with the understanding Adams would play at linebacker rather than safety. The former Jets first-rounder has played exclusively on the backend during his career, one which has been marred by injuries during recent times in particular. Adams’ mobility will be a question mark in Tennessee entering 2024 after he was limited to just 10 games over the past two seasons.

The Ravens hosted Adams on a free agent visit in May, but no updates on his market had emerged since then. The 2024 offseason saw a number of accomplished safeties let go in cost-shedding moves this spring, and the depth of available contributors has hindered the position’s overall market. It will be interesting to see if Adams’ signing will spur further action amidst the veterans looking to land with a new team ahead of training camp or at least the beginning of the season.

The three-time Pro Bowler has started all 80 games in his career, but he has failed to replicate his pass-rushing success (9.5 sacks) demonstrated in his debut Seahawks campaign of 2020. Tennessee – a team which traded away mainstay Kevin Byard midway through the 2023 season – had yet to make a free agent signing prior to today’s Adams agreement. With seventh-rounder James Williams being the Titans’ only safety draft addition, Adams could carve out a notable role in Nashville.

As Davenport notes, this agreement will allow Adams to reunite with Dennard Wilson. The latter served as New York’s defensive backs coach in 2018 and ’19, two of Adams’ best seasons. Wilson spent last season working with the Ravens, but he took Tennessee’s defensive coordinator gig in the winter. As he embarks on a new point in his career, Wilson will have a familiar face to work with in the secondary.

Ravens To Host Jamal Adams

May 21st, 2024 at 10:29am CST by Adam La Rose

Jamal Adams is one of several veteran safeties still on the market. A reunion with the Seahawks has been discussed, but he is also drawing interest from at least one other team.

Adams is set to visit the Ravens today, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Baltimore has seen a number of free agent departures this offseason, including at the safety and linebacker positions. The latter role could await Adams on his next NFL contract after he struggled in coverage last season.

Baltimore saw Geno Stone join the Bengals in free agency. The former seventh-rounder emerged as a key member of the team’s secondary during the 2024 campaign in particular, as he recorded seven interceptions. That helped him earn a two-year, $15MM deal in Cincinnati. The Ravens still have Marcus Williams and Kyle Hamilton in place as safety starters, though the former has dealt with injuries during his two-year tenure with the team.

Hamilton enjoyed a breakout season in 2023, showcasing his versatility. He is expected to continue lining in up in a variety of roles this season, and as such the Ravens could stand to add a third safety in free agency. Adams could take on a rotational role, particularly if it kept him close to the line of scrimmage. An April report indicated any new Seattle deal for the former All-Pro would be aimed at playing him as a linebacker rather than a safety.

Baltimore lost Patrick Queen to the Steelers this March. He earned Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro nods last season, his first full one with Roquan Smith in place as a second level starter. The latter is attached to a market-topping contract, so it came as little surprise when Queen departed on the open market. As things stand, 2023 third-rounder Trenton Simpson is in line to take on a starting role. He logged just 46 defensive snaps last year, though, so Baltimore could be in the market for an experienced insurance option.

Adams, 28, is a veteran of 80 starts. His Seattle tenure was marred by injuries, however, and he played just 10 games across the 2022 and ’23 campaigns. In the wake of his missed time and coverage struggles, it came as little surprise when the Seahawks released him (alongside fellow starter Quandre Diggs). The latter, like a number of other established names at the safety spot, remains unsigned.

It will be interesting to see if the Ravens offer Adams a deal following his visit. The team has roughly $5.6MM in cap space, so only a low-cost investment would be feasible on the Adams front. The three-time Pro Bowler is unlikely to land a lucrative pact this offseason from any suitor, and Baltimore could offer him at least a rotational role on defense should this summit yield mutual interest in a pact.

Seahawks In Discussion With Jamal Adams

April 30th, 2024 at 11:06am CST by Adam La Rose

During the lead-in to free agency, the Seahawks moved on from starting safeties Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams. Both remain unsigned at this time, but a reunion with the latter could be on the table.

Adams has been in contact with the Seahawks, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports. He adds that “interest in a possible return is regarded as legitimate,” a strong follow-up to general manager John Schneider‘s public stance stating Adams could be brought back. The 28-year-old was released last month in a cost-shedding move.

Acquired via trade from the Jets in 2020, Adams had a highly productive debut Seahawks campaign (83 tackles, 9.5 sacks). Injuries limited him to just 32 games across the following three seasons, though, including a single contest in 2022. The three-time Pro Bowler was held without a sack or interception this past season while struggling in coverage. That could lead to Seattle bringing him back with the intention of using him more at the second level than in the secondary, Condotta notes.

Indeed, ESPN’s Brady Henderson adds the Seahawks would reunite with Adams with the intention of using him at weakside linebacker. The LB spot saw considerable change during free agency, with Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks departing on the open market. Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker were brought in as replacements, and Adams would likely compete for playing time with the latter if he were to be brought back. Both Condotta and Henderson note that nothing is imminent at this time, however, and team may not need to proceed with much urgency given how much smaller any new Adams agreement will be than his previous pact.

The former No. 6 pick was attached to a four-year, $70MM deal before he was cut. Given his injury history (along with general downward trend of the safety market), Adams will no doubt sign a ‘prove it’ accord upon returning to Seattle or joining a new team. The Seahawks have Julian Love in place as a safety starter, and the team added Rayshawn Jenkins and K’Von Wallace in free agency. Adams could provide depth on the backend even if he were primarily used at linebacker.

Condotta names the 49ers as one of a “handful of teams” which has touched base with Adams this offseason. The Seahawks are clearly one of them, but they could have competition from a division rival in a hypothetical pursuit. Seattle currently has just $1.6MM in cap space, a portion of which will be needed to sign the team’s draft class.

Seahawks To Release Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs

March 5th, 2024 at 10:01pm CST by Adam La Rose

Long thought to be on the cap casualty radar, Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs will indeed be released. Seattle is cutting both veteran safeties, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports. In each case, the move will come as a standard (rather than post-June 1) release, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson.

The former in particular has often been floated as a release candidate, given the nature of his contract and the injury issues which have plagued his Seattle tenure. Adams arrived amidst massive expectations following his trade from the Jets and the four-year, $70MM extension which accompanied it. The former No. 6 pick played just 34 games in four seasons with Seattle, however.

That total includes one contest in 2022, and nine this past season. Adams ended the campaign on injured reserve with serious questions about his future in the Emerald City. They have now been answered; today’s move will create just over $6MM in cap savings while incurring a dead money charge of $20.83MM. Rather than spreading the latter figure out over two season, the team will absorb it all at once.

Diggs was entering the final year of his contract, a $40MM extension which appeared to keep him in place with the Seahawks for the long haul. None of his base salary was guaranteed, and as such the team will free up an additional $11MM in cap space. Still, the dead money figure in Diggs’ case ($10.27MM) illustrates the consequences of the investments made in both players during Pete Carroll‘s tenure at the helm of the franchise.

General manager John Schneider remains from that period, but he now has full control over roster decisions in the bid to transition under new head coach Mike Macdonald. Defensive improvement will be a key expectation for the latter given his background as well as the shortcomings Seattle has seen on that side of the ball in recent years. After being scheduled to account for over $20MM each on the cap next season, neither Adams nor Diggs will play a role in that effort.

Adams has an advantage in terms of age (28) over Diggs (31) with respect to potential market value on a deal with a new team. The former contemplated retirement following the 2022 campaign, though, and his injury history will be a major factor taken into consideration by prospective employers. A Jets reunion is not under consideration, SNY’s Connor Hughes tweets. Diggs has fared far better on the health front, earning a Pro Bowl every season from 2020-22. He recorded at least four interceptions each year over that span, but that figure fell to one in 2023.

Regardless of where Adams and Diggs wind up, Seattle will look much different on the backend in 2024. Julian Love is under contract for one more year, but at least one more starting-caliber option will be brought in this offseason.

Seahawks Waive Frank Clark, Place S Jamal Adams, WR Dee Eskridge On IR

December 30th, 2023 at 9:28pm CST by Ely Allen

After a short reunion in Seattle, the Seahawks have opted to part ways with veteran pass rusher Frank Clark, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The former three-time Pro Bowler will hit the waiver wire and potentially be available to sign for a playoff run. Additionally, the team will spend the remainder of the season without safety Jamal Adams and wide receiver Dee Eskridge, announcing that both players have been placed on injured reserve.

The Seahawks drafted Clark back in the 2015 second round and franchise-tagged him four years later, but the team executed a tag-and-trade transaction to send the former Michael Bennett–Cliff Avril sidekick to the Chiefs. While the Chiefs were viewed as perhaps the lead candidate to sign Clark, the recent Bronco found his way back to the Pacific Northwest. Injuries and poor fit led to his departure from Denver, so established fits like Seattle and Kansas City were really the best options for Clark.

Adams has missed the team’s last two games with a knee injury, and he will now miss their final two games of the season, as well. Despite Adams’ return to practice this week, head coach Pete Carroll made the call, determining that Adams was not doing well enough to play. This continues a troubling trend as Adams has not played a full, healthy season since joining the Seahawks three years ago. After missing almost all of the 2022 season, Adams will now have missed eight more games in 2023.

With continuing large cap hits over the next two seasons, there’s been plenty of speculation that Adams’ injury issues could lead to him becoming a salary cap casualty. Even if Seattle opts not to take that route, Adams himself considered calling it quits after last year’s season-ending quadriceps injury. More injury trouble this year may push Adams even closer to retirement. Regardless, this may have been the last season that we see Adams in navy and green.

Eskridge will now see a stint on IR for the third straight year to start his career. It’s safe to say that the Seahawks have not quite seen the return on investment out of their former second-round pick. Including a six-game suspension to start his 2023 campaign, Eskridge will have missed 27 of a possible 51 games since being drafted in 2021. He failed to catch his lone target of this year and only has 17 catches for 122 yards and a touchdown in his career.

In order to fill the three newly vacated roster spots, the Seahawks have signed linebacker Patrick O’Connell, safety Ty Okada, and offensive tackle Jake Curhan to the active roster from the practice squad. With linebacker Jordyn Brooks ruled out for this week’s matchup, O’Connell should provide some added depth at the position. Additionally, Seattle announced that nose tackle Austin Faoliu and cornerback Kelvin Joseph will join the above three as standard gameday elevations from the practice squad this weekend.

NFC West Rumors: Murray, Dobbs, Adams

December 16th, 2023 at 2:48pm CST by Ely Allen

The outcome for the Cardinals‘ 2023 season was pretty much already decided by the time the team finally was able to return quarterback Kyler Murray to the roster. Murray has now missed 18 games over the past three years, and even when he’s been available, Murray has a 5-10 record during the most recent two seasons.

Still, Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing has full confidence in Murray as a franchise quarterback in Arizona, according to Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic. Petzing, who worked with Kirk Cousins during his tenure in Minnesota, points towards Murray’s first three years in the NFL, which resulted in an Offensive Rookie of the Year award and two Pro Bowl selections in the years following.

Petzing claims that, if it were up to him, he wouldn’t look at drafting a quarterback in the first round with one of their two Day 1 picks this April. Unfortunately for Petzing, it’s not necessarily up to him. With the recent major injury to Murray and his lack of success since the 2021 season, the rest of the team brass may deem it necessary to bring in a Day 1 passer to expand their options.

Here are a couple of other rumors coming out of the NFC West, starting with another note out of Phoenix:

When Arizona traded quarterback Joshua Dobbs to Minnesota along with a seventh-round pick, there were conditions in place that would allow for the Cardinals to get that pick back if Dobbs met certain milestones. Well, according to Howard Balzer of PHNX, despite Dobbs recently being benched in favor of Nick Mullens, the fact that Dobbs started four games for the Vikings will send Arizona’s seventh-round pick back to the Cardinals.
In a recent Q&A with Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic, Dugar addressed the possibility of Seattle moving on from former All-Pro safety Jamal Adams after this season. While that seems like a real possibility with massive cap hits of $26.9MM and $27.9MM over the next two years and Adams’ recent drop in quality of play, it wouldn’t benefit the team as much as you might think. Releasing or trading Adams would result is a charge of $20.8MM in dead money for the Seahawks while only saving $6.08MM in cap space. Designating the move as a post-June 1 release would spread the dead money over the 2024 and 2025 seasons and increase the cap savings for 2024 to $16.5MM, but that still holds quite a heavy cost. Dugar believes that Adams may receive the benefit of the doubt, given the organization knows that he’s been limited with a knee injury. The high costs with that benefit of the doubt may be enough to keep Adams in green and navy for a couple more years.

Seahawks S Jamal Adams Considered Retirement

September 29th, 2023 at 10:00pm CST by Ely Allen

Monday night’s season-debut for Seahawks safety Jamal Adams will not only be the first game he’s played in since suffering a season-ending quadriceps injury in the team’s season opener last year, but it will also be his first game back in MetLife Stadium since being traded by the Jets in 2020. The sentimental returns are only emphasized by recent reports from Brady Henderson at ESPN that, after his most recent brush with serious injury, Adams considered retiring from the game of football altogether.

Adams started off his career relatively healthy, only missing two games over his first three seasons in New York. Since coming to Seattle, though, Adams has missed 28 of a possible 53 regular season contests with an assortment of injuries. While some injuries to his groin, elbow, and fingers were minor ailments, two shoulder labrum tears and the most recent torn quad tendon have forced him to miss extended periods during his time as a Seahawk. The litany of injuries has had a lasting effect on Adams, leaving him in a “dark place” shortly after he learned he’d be out for the 2022 season.

“It was tough,” Adams told reporters in his first media appearance since suffering the quadriceps injury. “I thought about retiring. I thought about a lot of things. ‘Is this going to be it for me?’ I didn’t know, but I knew eventually. After I got that MRI, I told myself I’m going to be back. I didn’t know when or how, but I was going to figure it out.”

It didn’t take long for Adams to formulate when that return would come. He soon determined that, knowing his recovery would keep him from participating in most of the summer and preseason, he would need a few weeks of regular season practice before returning to action. He was activated from the physically unable to perform list a week before roster cuts, and Week 4 was circled on the schedule.

Another player returning to MetLife for the first time since joining the Seahawks, safety Julian Love has been starting alongside free safety Quandre Diggs in Adams’ place so far this year. Head coach Pete Carroll announced that Adams would have no restrictions in his return from injury, while defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt was a bit more hesitant in making any promises, telling the media that they’d “feel that out as they go.”

We’ll likely have to wait until Monday to see Seattle’s exact plan for working Adams back into the mix. Maybe, he’ll truly be full-go and play 100 percent of the team’s defensive snaps against the Giants. Maybe, he’ll split time with Love as the team tests just how much Adams can handle in his first contest in over a year. Or, maybe, Adams just gets his feet wet, testing out the repairs to his knee and seeing if he really is ready to go full speed. Regardless, we’re due for a momentous return that, for a moment, seemed like it may never happen.

NFC West Notes: 49ers, Adams, Cards, Rams

September 25th, 2023 at 9:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

Recent restructures have vaulted the 49ers past the Browns for cap space. San Francisco’s $42.1MM leads the NFL by more than $7MM. GM John Lynch did not rule out some of these funds being used to add a trade piece, but the 49ers are planning roll over the bulk of the space to 2024.

“Really, we always look at the cap for three years out,” Lynch said, via NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. “Obviously, we have all that room this year. But really it’s to create room for future years because we roll everything over. It helps us in future years because it creates some room we’re going to need. … We’ve pretty much done what we’re going to do this year, but you never know with the trade deadline and all that.”

The 49ers created some space by extending Nick Bosa, though the team authorized a record-smashing accord that will show up on future caps, but Brock Purdy‘s rookie contract runs through 2025. During the Lynch-Kyle Shanahan era, the 49ers have not been shy about adding at the deadline, as the Christian McCaffrey and Emmanuel Sanders trades illustrate. In place as a Super Bowl contender once again, the 49ers will have some ammo to accommodate a bigger salary if they choose. For now, however, they are viewing the restructures to help down the road. Even with the projected carryover, the 49ers currently are projected to hold barely $17MM in 2024 cap space.

Here is the latest from the NFC West:

The Seahawks will not delay Jamal Adams‘ return for another week. Pete Carroll pronounced his highest-paid safety as “ready to go” for the team’s Week 4 Monday-night matchup against the Giants. Adams suffered a torn quadriceps tendon during the Seahawks’ season-opening Monday-nighter against the Broncos last year. The seventh-year veteran spent most of training camp on the Seahawks’ active/PUP list, and while he avoided the reserve/PUP designation, he still was expected to miss regular-season time. Additionally, Carroll said Riq Woolen and Charles Cross have a good chance to return in Week 4. Cross has missed the past two games, while Woolen was down for Week 3.
In 2020, the Cardinals had both CeeDee Lamb and Tristan Wirfs on their radar when they held the No. 8 overall pick. Many in the Cards’ war room believed it would be a Wirfs-or-Lamb decision, GOPHNX.com’s Howard Balzer notes. Isaiah Simmons instead became the selection. While Simmons did not pan out in Arizona, being traded to the Giants for a seventh-round pick last month, he was viewed as an elite-level prospect. The Lions and Giants were linked to Simmons at Nos. 3 and 4, while Wirfs and Lamb did not go off the board until Nos. 13 and 17. Simmons represents another Steve Keim misstep at linebacker. The Cardinals missed on Deone Bucannon (2014) and had slotted Haason Reddick (2017) as an off-ball player for most of his Arizona run. Zaven Collins (2021) has since been moved to the outside. Simmons moved around the Cardinals’ formation, finishing his desert run as a safety.
Sean McVay remains the Rams‘ play-caller, but he allowed new OC Mike LaFleur to implement new concepts upon coming over from the Jets. LaFleur added elements from the Jets and 49ers’ offenses that were not previously in the Rams’ scheme, Dan Pompei of The Athletic writes (subscription required). McVay indicated LaFleur — a Shanahan assistant from 2014-20, with the Browns, Falcons and 49ers — has earned the autonomy he received this offseason, when he came to Los Angeles shortly after a Jets separation.

NFL Restructures: 49ers, Humphrey, Barrett, Teller

September 6th, 2023 at 9:11pm CST by Ely Allen

The NFL has an offseason rule called the Top 51 rule. The Top 51 rule dictates that, from the start of the new NFL league year until the beginning of the regular season, only the top 51 contracts (in terms of salary cap hit) count against a team’s salary cap. With the 2023 regular season starting tomorrow, the Top 51 rule expired at 4pm today.

This means that each team in the NFL was forced to add two more contracts to their salary cap totals. If a team was flirting with the ceiling of the salary cap, the addition of two more contracts may push them above the limit. While that may not have been the case for all of the following teams, these front offices decided to take advantage of the timing to clear up some cap space, according to ESPN’s Field Yates:

The 49ers did double-duty, restructuring the contracts of tight end George Kittle and offensive tackle Trent Williams. For Kittle, the team converted $10.57MM of his 2023 base salary into a signing bonus while adding an additional void year to the end of the deal, clearing up $8.46MM of cap space. For Williams, San Francisco converted $18.24MM of the left tackle’s 2023 base salary into a signing bonus, also adding a single void year to the end of the deal. Williams’ adjustment cleared $14.59MM of cap space. The $23.04MM of cap space cleared in the restructures likely had less to do with the Top 51 rule and much more to do with star pass rusher Nick Bosa‘s record-setting extension.
The Ravens used the opportunity to adjust star cornerback Marlon Humphrey‘s contract. Baltimore converted $9.42MM of Humphrey’s 2023 base salary into a signing bonus and added a single void year to the end of the deal. The adjustment created $7.54MM of cap space for the Ravens.
The Seahawks decided to create space by restructuring safety Jamal Adams‘ contract. Seattle converted $9.92MM of Adams’ 2023 base salary into a signing bonus, creating $6.61MM of cap space for the team.
The Buccaneers also targeted the contract of a defensive veteran, adjusting the numbers of pass rusher Shaquil Barrett. For Barrett, Tampa Bay converted $13.09MM of his 2023 base salary into a signing bonus while adding an additional void year to the end of the contract. The restructure clears up $10.47MM of cap space for the Buccaneers.
The Titans also addressed the contract of a pass rusher, restructuring Harold Landry‘s current deal. Tennessee converted $11MM of Landry’s 2023 base salary into a signing bonus, clearing up $8.25MM of cap space for the team.
The Broncos continue to miss the contributions of wide receiver Tim Patrick, who will once again miss the entire season, but Denver still found some value for him in a contract restructure. The team converted $6MM of Patrick’s 2023 base salary into a signing bonus to clear up $3MM of cap space.
The Browns created some cap space by restructuring the deal of veteran offensive guard Wyatt Teller. Cleveland converted $11.42MM of Teller’s 2023 base salary into a signing bonus while adding an additional void year to the end his deal in order to create $9.14MM of cap space for the team.

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