In a move that surprised absolutely no one, the Seattle Seahawks cut ties from safety Jamal Adams. Earlier this week Adams, along with fellow safety Quandre Diggs, was released by the Seahawks.
Adams is now in a surprisingly long list of splashy – and costly – trade moves Seattle has made that never really quite worked out. Percy Harvin, Jimmy Graham, Jadeveon Clowney, and now Jamal Adams. While all had varying degrees of success and big moments, none were truly the player the Seahawks hoped would pan out in the long run.
In the case of Adams, it was a rather expensive move. Seattle forked over two first round picks, a third rounder, and starting safety Bradley McDougald. In the end, it is fair to say this trade did not work out for the Seahawks. But general manager John Schneider is tired of hearing about it, especially some of the more negative storylines surrounding the transaction and Adams himself.
John Schneider said on @SeattleSports that he's tired of the Jamal Adams narratives that he was a different player after getting paid. John seemingly also tired of critiques about the compensation it took to acquire Jamal.
Full quote: pic.twitter.com/Rdr9iroLBj
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) March 8, 2024
In a vacuum, I understand what Schneider is getting at. The Seahawks were in dire need of a playmaker on defense and in his first season Adams was fit the bill. Injuries are almost impossible to predict, and Adams suffered plenty of them during his tenure in Seattle.
As for discussion about if Adams was a different player after being paid, I am going to side with Schneider on this. It is not a topic I am interested in even entertaining a discussion on.
But in the end, it is hard to find any evidence this trade ultimately benefitted the Seahawks. Yes, 9.5 sacks in a single season is an NFL record for most by a defensive back. I think we an all agree that is not worth three quality draft picks and a starting safety in this league.
Although, the silver lining here is it’s not like the New York Jets benefitted all that much either. Sure the Jets used the draft capital to help build one of the league’s better defenses, but they still have yet to come close to sniffing the playoffs, as their postseason appearance drought has just concluded its 13th year.
At this point, we can probably mark this trade as a “lose-lose” for both sides.
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