At this point last year, the Seattle Seahawks looked like a team in transition. They were heading into the summer without two pillars of the organization after trading quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos and releasing linebacker Bobby Wagner. Many assumed the franchise was heading into a rebuild, but it has been the opposite.
Seattle is in a great spot heading into the future after going 9-8 and earning a Wild Card spot last season. The Wilson trade has ended up being a huge win for them as they restocked the roster with assets acquired from the Broncos and avoided paying him a contract worth nearly a quarter billion dollars.
Alas, not all moves the Seahawks have made in recent years have panned out as well as that one seems like it will. One of their misses was acquiring safety, Jamal Adams, from the New York Jets in 2020.
Seattle traded away two first-round picks and a third-round pick to New York in exchange for Adams and a fourth-round pick. They also signed him to a four-year, $70,580,000 extension at the end of his rookie contract.
That deal has not come close to panning out as well as the team had hoped. After making the All-Pro Second Team in his first season with the Seahawks, Adams has struggled to stay on the field since. That is a big reason why Matt Verderame of Sports Illustrated believes Adams is one player that could still switch teams this offseason.
“Saying Adams has one of the worst contracts from a team standpoint isn’t a tough argument to make.
Adams has played in 13 games over the past two years and has recorded six passes defended and zero sacks despite essentially playing a linebacker’s role. While Seattle would likely relish moving on while having Quandre Diggs and Julian Love as its starting safety tandem, Adams is due another $45 million in base salary over the next three years, making him a poor trade candidate.
At this point, would general manager John Schneider release Adams this summer and save $8.4 million this year along with $34 million over the remainder of his deal?”
Adams has become expendable for the Seahawks with the addition of Julian Love, who creates a strong safety tandem with Pro Bowler Quandre Diggs. However, given the skill set that Adams possesses and how he is deployed by the coaching staff, there certainly is a way to make things work schematically.
The question is, do the Seahawks want to try and make it work? Or, would they be better off cutting their losses and moving on? The amount of money the team can save is substantial and could be better used elsewhere on the roster to improve things.
The Seahawks could opt to keep Adams in the mix this season and see if he can rehab his value. In that scenario, he could be a deadline trade candidate or someone on the move during the 2024 offseason. How much money the team can save won’t change between now and next year, so seeing if they can get something in return for him on top of monetary savings is a good route to take.
