A heist, a fleece, a savage swindle — all seemingly fair descriptions of the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson trade last March. Seattle gave up a quarterback that “led” the Broncos to the lowest point total in the NFL last season, and received first and second-round picks along with impact players such as Noah Fant and Shelby Harris.
It helped put Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider back on the elite executives list in the minds of the media — and there has been plenty of acclaim in this space as well. But as commended as that deal was, there was one a couple years earlier that has been criticized — the acquisition of safety Jamal Adams for two first-round picks and a third-rounder to boot.
I bring this up because a $2.56 million salary guarantee just kicked in for Adams, all but ensuring he will be with the Seahawks next season. That wasn’t a surprise (the real shock would have been if they released him), but it does make you wonder if Adams will ever influence the win column the way the team hoped he would. Could 2023 be the blue-and-green breakthrough season for the 27-year-old? Or will those dealt draft picks continue to haunt?
It’s hard to get too upset with Carroll and Schneider for wanting to bring Adams on board in 2020. The Seahawks were coming off an 11-5 season, had a Pro Bowler-in-his-prime QB in Wilson, and had all the markings of a team in “win-now” mode. Adams, meanwhile, was coming off a first-team All-Pro season with the Jets as a 23-year-old.
So the Seahawks swung and seemed to square up on the pitch. Key word being seemed.
In his first year in Seattle, Adams set the single-season sack record for a defensive back with 9.5 sacks. This came in a span of 12 games, as injuries precluded him from playing in the other four. But sexy numbers don’t always equate to a superior season.
Analytics site Pro Football Focus broke down every one of Adams’ plays in 2020 and ranked him 53rd overall among safeties in the league and 78th on pass defense.
This didn’t stop the Seahawks from extending Adams and making him the highest-paid safety in football, but in 2021, Adams ranked 63rd overall, according to PFF, and 85th in pass coverage.
It’s just a website, I know. The graders aren’t wearing headsets and don’t know all the details of the coverage designs. But 53rd one year and 63rd the next? It was clear Adams hadn’t stood out in either season.
But 2022 seemed to have promise. One of the first calls new Seahawks defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt made after his promotion was to Adams. The feeling was that he wasn’t being used optimally in his first two years here.
Perhaps training camp was a sign that was true. Jamal impressed teammates in the weeks leading up to the season, including receiver DK Metcalf, who said Adams “caught like 10 picks” during camp.
Alas, a quadriceps tendon tear Adams suffered in Week 1 vs. Denver last year ended his season. He has played in just 25 of a possible 50 games for the Seahawks since signing. So is there any way this trade can ever pay off?
Well, it’s important to note that Adams’ three major injuries with the Seahawks have been on different parts of the body (groin, quad and shoulder). It’s not as if he has one particularly vulnerable joint or limb. However, his aggressive style of play is such that he is more susceptible to getting hurt. The health bug could strike again next season.
The source of hope, though, is that we still haven’t seen Adams — who’s still in his athletic prime — used in Hurtt’s defense for more than a half. With him joining fellow safety Quandre Diggs and Pro Bowl cornerback Tariq Woolen — might Seattle have one of the more formidable back ends in the NFL?
That’s what the coaching staff and front office is counting on. It’s just that recent history has shown that may be a pipe dream.
Few question Adams’ natural gifts. He was the sixth pick in the draft for a reason and he has been outstanding at various points in his career.
But that trade, frankly, has looked worse and worse with each passing season. If it doesn’t look better in 2023, it likely never will.