Getty Seahawks safety Jamal Adams at Lumen Field on October 22, 2023 in Seattle, Washington.
The Seattle Seahawks made a wave of cuts to clear cap space ahead of the 2024 NFL season. Seahawks general manager John Schneider released tight end Will Dissly, along with starting safety duo Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs.
Adams, who signed a $70.5 million contract with the Seahawks ahead of the 2021 season, was one of the most polarizing players in Seattle. Most fans were happy to see him gone.
After the Seahawks signed safeties K’Von Wallace and Rayshawn Jenkins in free agency, the door for Adams’ return seemed shut. During his weekly appearance on Seattle Sports on Thursday, March 21, however, Schneider revealed the three-time Pro Bowler may come back. Albeit, in a different role.
“Schneider also mentioned there has been consideration about bringing Jamal Adams back, especially because they initially considered him as a WILL linebacker when they traded for him,” Seattle Sports’ Mike Lefko posted. A WILL is a nickname for the weak side linebacker.
“Maybe he’s a linebacker, maybe that better serves what he does well,” Schneider noted, per The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta. “When we acquired him that’s what we were thinking, he was a will linebacker.”
Financially speaking, Adams’ return would be a huge surprise. His release “cleared $16.5 million off the Seahawks’ books as well as the $17.5 million (also non-guaranteed) he was scheduled to make in 2025,” ESPN reported. While they saved $6.1 million against the 2024 cap, Seattle absorbed $20.83 million in dead money with his immediate release.
While it’s a consideration, Lefko later clarified it doesn’t appear to be an “active” consideration “right now.”
Seahawks Analyst Floated the Idea of Jamal Adams Returning as a Linebacker
Could we see Jamal Adams back?
[📷: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports]
Former quarterback turned Seahawks analyst Brock Huard commented on Adams possibly returning on March 20. While he said Diggs’ return was unlikely, “There’s still some possibility maybe at linebacker (with) Jamal Adams,” Huard told Seattle Sports.
“If there’s really nobody else out there in this market that’s willing to take a swing (on Adams), we know [new Seahawks head coach] Mike Macdonald in his past has taken swings at veteran guys and gotten a lot of production out of them… They certainly know that body over the last four years and the injury history associated with it.”
During his four-year tenure in Seattle, Adams missed 34 of 68 possible regular-season games due to various injuries. He recorded 9.5 sacks in his first season (2020) and zero in the past three years.
“In this draft, if you don’t find a linebacker and Jamal Adams is still out there and unsigned and is willing to play that, I don’t think that’s 100% off the table,” Huard concluded.
The Seahawks linebackers’ room already looks very different next season. After Jordyn Brooks and Bobby Wagner left in free agency, Seattle was signed former Buffalo Bills linebacker Tyrel Dodson and former Miami Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker.
Seahawks News: John Schneider Defended the Blockbuster Trade Seattle Made to Obtain Jamal Adams
GettySeahawks safety Jamal Adams at MetLife Stadium on October 2, 2023.
Between Adams’ struggling performance and questionable off-the-field antics, bringing him back seems questionable at best. Most fans consider the blockbuster trade that brought Adams to Seattle as one of the worst deals in franchise history.
The Seahawks up two first-rounders, a third-round pick, and safety Bradley McDougald in exchange for Adams and a 2022 fourth-rounder from the New York Jets.
“Yeah, I’m getting a little tired of the (narrative). The trade portion, too,” Schneider told Seattle Sports on March 7. “Because, you know, it was a COVID year, we were picking 20-whatever and in order to go from wherever we were at 20 to get up to pick a guy like Jamal who was picked in the top five, you gotta give up another first-round pick the next year.
“He came in here, our coaches did a great job with him. He had 9.5 sacks, goes to the Pro Bowl, completely disruptive. Comes back the next year, he’s having a good season, gets hurt. Then he gets hurt again – a really, really bad injury. I feel bad for him.”
Jamal Adams being separated from the NFL red-cap concussion advisor by #Seahawks team staff. Adams yelled and pointed. Eventually led to the Seattle locker room without his helmet
Injured on the 10th play of his return, Giants QB Daniel Jones’ knee to Adams’ helmet
After suffering a season-ending quadriceps tear in Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season, Adams went down with a head injury in his first game back in 2023 (Week 4). He refused to exit for further evaluation, and his outburst toward the league’s independent concussion doctor went viral.
After a lingering injury returned in the back half of the season, he stopped showing up for the Seahawks’ matchups. Adams appeared in 9 games last season, earning a 54.9 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. He registered 48 total tackles, 2 passes defensed, and 1 quarterback hit.