Seahawks strong safety Jamal Adams is rapidly approaching Clay Bennett levels of infamy on the Seattle sports scene. Adams came to the Seahawks in an ill-conceived trade in July of 2020, a deal which included sending two first-round draft picks to the Jets. Later, Adams signed what was at the time the richest contract for a safety in NFL history. Then, the injuries began taking their toll. Next, Adams got even worse in coverage. Finally, Adams started taking out his frustrations on beat reporters’ wives on Twitter.
Needless to say, fans have had about enough of No. 33 and are desperate to get rid of him this coming offseason, no matter the cost. It would be a considerable one, though. No team will take on Adams’ contract so the only way out is to cut him. However, that move would come with over $20 million in dead money over the next two years.
It’s a steep price to pay to get rid of a three-time Pro Bowl defender who’s still highly-effective around the box. Some folks think it’s worth it, though. That includes former Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren. Speaking on 93.3 KJR radio yesterday, Holmgren said he had to release good players that were hurting the team and sometimes you have to eat the money.
Coach Holmgren on what the #Seahawks could or should do re: Jamal Adams:
“I’ve been in position where I’ve had to release good players that were hurting the team. And sometimes you just have to eat the money.”
On Pete and John re: Jamal:
“I trust them, they both have each…
— 93.3 KJR (@933KJR) December 13, 2023
Cutting Adams should probably be high on the team’s list of priorities once the offseason begins – but it can’t end there. Writing off Adams should be part of a larger shedding process of getting rid of burdensome contracts for veterans on the back end of Seattle’s defense. While Quandre Diggs is an excellent safety, he’s had a bad year. Soon to be 31 years old, cutting Diggs would also carry a brutal dead money penalty, but it would save $11 million in cap space for the 2024 season.
The Seahawks also have to consider a total reset at linebacker, where both Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks are about to become free agents. Wagner will always be our favorite defender in franchise history, but he’s become a liability in coverage too often and re-signing him is probably not worth the investment considering his age and the team’s situation. Brooks is much younger and may be worth re-signing after his huge step forward this year – but there’s also a case for letting him walk and starting over with a couple of linebackers on rookie contracts.
Once the dead weight at linebacker and safety has been shed, the Seahawks need to shift whatever resources they have saved towards their offensive and defensive lines – which is the biggest obstacle between them and the contenders they’ve been losing to lately. Radically upgrading both sides of the line of scrimmage is a non-negotiable prerequisite for catching up with heavyweights like the 49ers, Cowboys, Ravens and Eagles.
Then again, we feel this team’s greatest problems are not on the field but rather in the booth and on the sidelines. We have a tremendous amount of respect for what Pete Caroll has accomplished and he’s still better than average at his job. That said, he’s out of his league against two much younger head coaches within his own division and the odds of returning to the Super Bowl after a 10-year layover are extremely slim. The Seahawks likely won’t get back to the top of the mountain unless they have somebody else leading them.
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