The Seattle Seahawks paid an arm and a leg to acquire Pro Bowl safety Jamal Adams from the New York Jets ahead of the 2020 season. The former first-round pick responded accordingly, recording 83 tackles, 14 quarterback hits and a team-high 9.5 sacks.
Set to become a free agent following the 2021 campaign, Adams wants a contract that will make him the highest-paid safety in the entire NFL. It led to him sitting out Seattle’s offseason programs as a way to force the team’s hands.
While Adams is on hand for training camp, he’s yet to practice with the team. The 25-year-old defensive back simply wants to be paid like his performance has shown on the field.
In talking to the media about the Adams’ contract situation on Wednesday, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said that he was “very hopeful it’s going to be taken care of soon, very soon.”
Staying true to his optimistic ways, Carroll might be seeing this situation as being more rosy than it is, as NFL insider Josina Anderson noted on Wednesday:
“Sources expressed to me earlier today they weren’t expecting Jamal Adams to practice, which he didn’t today. This was not a surprise nor viewed acrimoniously: One source said quote, ‘no problem. Practice when signed, most likely.’ Another, ‘Similar to Bobby (Wagner) situation.'”
Jamal Adams contract situation with the Seattle Seahawks
Adams is currently playing out the fifth-year team option on the contract he signed with the New York Jets after they made him the No. 6 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. The former LSU star is slated to earn a base salary of $9.86 million.
Obviously, the goal for Adams is to become the highest-paid safety in the entire league this summer. That would include earning north of the $15.25 million Justin Simmons is currently making with the Denver Broncos on an annual basis.
Whether something comes to fruition on this end ahead of the Seahawks’ Week 1 outing against the Indianapolis Colts remains to be seen. If not, things could get ugly between Adams and his organization in the Pacific Northwest.
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