Any possibility of Adams returning ended on Thursday when it was announced that he signed with the Tennessee Titans.
Reports say Adams has signed a one-year deal with the Titans. Other terms were not immediately announced.
Adams and fellow starting safety Quandre Diggs were released by the Seahawks in early March to free up cap space before the free-agent signing period.
Adams had two years left on the four-year, $72 million deal he signed in August 2021 and included cap hits of $26.9 million and $27.9 million over the next two seasons. The Seahawks are taking a dead cap hit of $20.83 million this season – a penalty for money already paid by Adams – but are otherwise free of any further financial obligations to him.
A source close to the situation told the Times in May that the Seahawks and Adams have remained in contact about the possibility of a return. Any return would see Adams playing primarily the weak side linebacker role instead of the safety position as he has the past four seasons.
It’s unclear what plans Tennessee has for Adams, now 28.
What is clear is that barring a reunion, the book is officially closed on a trade that will forever go down as one of the most star-crossed in team history — if it isn’t called one of the worst. Not considered as risk and reward.
The Seahawks traded a package to the Jets for Adams in the summer of 2020 that included two first-round picks (2021, 2022), envisioning him as a player with that kind of physicality and Could bring playmaking, which was missing since Legion. The boom began to collapse after the 2017 season.
Adams, the Jets’ sixth overall pick in 2017 out of LSU, made the Pro Bowl in 2018 and 2019 and was a first-team All-Pro pick in 2019, a year before being acquired by the Seahawks. The Jets made him available to both sides during the standoff over his contract.
The deal initially looked good as Adams set the NFL record for sacks by a defensive back in 2020 with 9.5, as the Seahawks finished 12-4 – tied for the third-most wins in a season in team history – And won the NFC West. Adams made the Pro Bowl and was named second-team All-Pro.
This helped force the Seahawks to re-sign Adams to a contract that made him the highest-paid safety in NFL history.
That was pretty much the end of the highlights of the relationship for the Seahawks or Adams.
Adams played only 22 games over the next three seasons after signing that deal due to a series of injuries, including missing all but one game in 2022 when he tore his quad in the season opener against the Denver Broncos. The muscle was torn.
His on-field production also suffered. While he gave up some notable big plays in pass coverage he had no sacks in his final three seasons. This was accompanied by some non-player controversies, including a $50,000 fine from the league for interfering with a doctor attempting to conduct a concussion protocol procedure on receiver Jake Bobo during a loss at Cincinnati.
This means his future in Seattle after the 2023 season already seemed to be in question, even before the team fired Pete Carroll and brought in Mike McDonald as the new head coach.
The Seahawks signed veteran Rayshawn Jenkins to pair with Julian Love as their new safety combination, while signing K’Von Wallace as a reserve. They also used 2023 draftee Kobe Bryant as a safety during the offseason program.
Over the years, Love has typically played the free safety spot typically occupied by Diggs (who remains unsigned), while Jenkins has typically played the strong safety spot typically occupied by Adams.
As mentioned, if Adams had returned it would likely have been as a weak linebacker. The Seahawks have veteran Jerome Baker – formerly of Miami – in line to start at that spot, and they used fourth-rounder Tyrese Knight as well as second-year player Patrick O’Connell there during the offseason program. Did.
At Tennessee, Adams joins a secondary that has undergone an extensive rebuild under new head coach Brian Callahan, who replaced longtime coach Mike Vrabel.
He joins a familiar face in new defensive coordinator Denard Wilson, who was the Jets’ defensive backs coach from 2017-20, and coached Adams during his first three years in the NFL.
It won’t take long for Adams and the Seahawks to reunite on the field. They will travel to Nashville in mid-August to have two joint practices with the Titans before playing a preseason game at Tennessee on August 17.