Recent Seahawks contract restructures may tip return of this former player

The Seattle Seahawks have re-structured the contracts of both Dre'Mont Jones and Jarran Reed in the last 24 hours. Seattle moved some money around in Jones' contract, opening up $7.4 million in cap space immediately, upping the Seahawks' cap space to just over $8.5 million, according to Over the Cap. Further, reworking Jarran Reed's contract gives Seattle an easy out if the Seahawks were to cut him. Seattle would save $4.97 million if they were to waive Reed.

As Seattle's roster begins to settle in after OTAs, we're getting our first glimpse of what this team may look like in 2024. We've heard encouraging comments about the state of the team from both head coach Mike Macdonald and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb recently. But there seems to still be one glaring issue that should concern Seahawks fans. The linebacker corps is extremely injured and extremely thin.

Gone are the days of Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks. The expected starters at linebacker, free agent acquisitions Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson, have both missed all of OTAs with injuries. The starting linebackers we saw over the last few weeks were Drake Thomas and Jon Rhattigan, who are not exactly superstars. It sounds like rookie Tyrice Knight is making strides in developing, but he likely still needs time to develop into a starter.

Could the Seattle Seahawks be thinking of bringing back Jamal Adams?

The lingering linebacker dilemma paired with Seattle suddenly moving money around suggests Seattle may be leaning towards bringing in another linebacker as an insurance policy. But at this point in the offseason, who could even be available? Perhaps the Seahawks could make a trade for an established veteran, but it's an awkward time to work out a trade as OTA's wind down and we enter the dead zone of the off-season. A trade likely won't be in the works, but could a free agent signing be?

When looking at the current free agents, an interesting name still lingers. A free agent with ties to Seattle. Someone that Seattle once gave significant assets for and paid significant money to. A player who arguably was playing out of position and could benefit under a player-friendly defensive scheme. Former Seahawk Jamal Adams is still available.

I hesitate to refer to Adams as a safety. He's more of a "money-backer" or a safety-linebacker hybrid. Pete Carroll and Seattle's defensive coordinators struggled to utilize Adams, often playing him way off the line of scrimmage as a deep-third safety. That's just not his game - it never has been.

In 2020, when Adams played a good chunk of his snaps in the box and set the defensive back sack record, Adams was fantastic. His production in run defense and as a flat coverage defender was also really fun to watch in his three years in New York.

According to Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic (subscription required), when John Schneider was asked about potentially bringing back Jamal Adams after he was released in March, the general manager saw Adams as a weakside linebacker.

At 28 years old, Adams is still relatively young and could possibly have a few more years left in him. But considering his injury history and his complete drop-off in production, the free agent shouldn't command too much in terms of compensation. There's been rumors of interest from a couple of teams, but Adams remains unsigned. An Adams contract would likely be a one-year deal with a pretty low base salary laced with incentives. It would be a low-risk, high-reward gamble for Seattle.

On the surface, I understand why fans wouldn't want Adams back. Recently, Adams had been a distraction off the field as he faced criticism for his treatment of medical staff who were simply looking out for his well-being and odd personal attacks against members of the media. And his play on the field was just ugly. Adams cost Seattle multiple first-round picks and his salary dominated Seattle's cap space for a few years, and it seemed to never pay off.

However, if Seattle can bring back Adams on a cheap deal for him to serve as an insurance policy at a thin position, it would be hard to pass on that opportunity. Adams' best stretches in Seattle were when he played in the box, where he was an effective pass rusher and run stuffer. If there's anyone who can find a good way to use Jamal Adams, it's probably Mike Macdonald. And if it doesn't work? Oh well, you waive him (again). No harm, no foul this time around.

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