3 safeties Seahawks must pursue with Jamal Adams still limping
By Lee Vowell
Seahawks safety Jamal Adams was injured in Week 1 of the 2022 season but Seattle might need to find someone to replace him at least at the beginning of 2023. Per head coach Pete Carroll, Adams still has a “long recovery” ahead of him and his rehab from the quadriceps injury he suffered against the Denver Broncos will last into the summer and likely beyond. Adams’ injury affected not only his own season, obviously, but the entire scheme the Seahawks were hoping to have on defense this year.
With no Adams, Seattle had to resort to a lot less aggressive approach than the team was hoping to have this year. It took weeks for Seattle to figure out how to move forward without Adams (some of that can probably be blamed on ill-prepared coaching as the coaching staff should have been able to account for any foreseeable issues and Adams has been oft-injured with Seattle) and that affected the defense for most of the season. Josh Jones was a mistake to replace Adams initially, and while Ryan Neal was a much better substitute, Neal is a free agent this offseason.
So assuming Adams isn’t ready in Week 1 of 2023 and also assuming it will take some time for him to get back up to game speed once he is ready, the Seahawks need to find a replacement for him. Seattle might not sign a safety long-term to take Adams’ spot because Adams is still under contract through 2025. Plus, Adams’ long-term replacement should come through the NFL draft at some point.
Three options in free agency for the Seahawks to temporarily replace Jamal Adams
This means Seattle could sign a veteran safety to a one-year deal and immediately put that player into Adams’ position. Still, the Seahawks don’t need to waste money on a veteran who can no longer do the job. So it’s a little tricky.
General manager John Schneider and coach Carroll need to be smart about who they bring in and can’t overspend. Also, the player they sign needs to want to take a one-year deal. Here are three options Seattle might try to chase through free agency.