Jamal Adams and Seahawks contract talks heat up: Seattle needs to sign him

Reports have the contract extension talks between Jamal Adams and the Seahawks escalating. We couldn’t be happier. Jamal Adams must be signed long-term. Seattle simply gave up too much to get Adams before last year and letting him walk after this season would affect the team for many years to come.

Not that the Seahawks need to sign Jamal Adams simply because they traded two first round picks to acquire him from the Jets. Had Adams been a complete bust in his first year with Seattle, things would look much more dire. But Adams, coverage issues at times aside, was a very good player for Seattle last year and should continue to be for several more seasons.

In fact, the way the Seahawks used Jamal Adams last year might actually enhance his value. Bringing Adams in on blitzes or other designed quarterback pressures resulted in 9.5 sacks for Adams and Seattle. The threat of him being on the field makes opposing teams think.

Seahawks need to sign Jamal Adams before training camp starts

Reports have contract talks “heating up” between Seattle and Adams with Seattle reportedly willing to give Adams enough money to make him the NFL’s highest-paid safety. This would mean averaging better than the $15.25 million a year that the Broncos Justin Simmons averages.

But Seattle also seemingly wants to pay Adams less than linebacker Bobby Wagner’s average of $18 million a season. Wagner is the highest-paid defensive on the Seahawks and a future Hall of Famer. Wagner, though, might not be playing at his current level in 2-3 years. Adams should be playing at a high level for 5-7 years.

So the question is, Does Seattle not want to pay Jamal Adams more than Bobby Wagner because safeties aren’t worth as much as linebackers in defensive schemes? Or because the Seahawks don’t want to completely blow their cap space in 2022 (either way, it’s going to take a significant hit with whatever Seattle ends up paying Adams)? Or is Seattle afraid of upsetting Bobby Wagner?

If the last question is the truth then Pete Carroll and John Schneider need to know – and likely do – that the face of the defense in two years isn’t Wagner, it’ll be Adams. So if you are afraid of upsetting one of the two, you should go with upsetting Wagner more.

The Seahawks need to pay Jamal Adams and make him the highest-paid safety in the NFL. They should try to sign him for around $17.5 million for four years. That’s a long contract in today’s NFL but Adams is still a young player with a lot of great football in front of him. This should be done, in my opinion, before training camp starts on July 28th.