4 Seattle Seahawks facing boom or bust seasons in 2023

Seattle Seahawks safety Jamal Adams

Jamal Adams just needs to play. If he can stay healthy and play close to how well he is capable of, he is going to be a very productive player. He probably won't ever get to 9.5 sacks again (as he did in 2020), but Seattle doesn't need him to. If he can play 13 or 14 games a season - expecting him to play an entire season ever again is probably out of the question - that's going to be enough for him to make a positive impact.

The issue with Adams, besides him seemingly always being hurt in recent years, is that his contract is already massive and his cap hit goes up nearly $5 million in 2024. If Seattle were to release him next offseason, the team would save $9,390,000 against the cap and have $14,220,000 in dead space. Eating that much won't be fun, but financially it still might make sense if Adams once again can't play much in 2023 because of injuries.

Adams, however, is an easy player to like. He clearly doesn't want to be hurt and he works like heck to try to get back on the field. He also appears to be a team-first guy who doesn't complain. Adams wants to be on the field and making a huge impact to help his team win games, not to glorify himself. And he is well-respected by his teammates.

I wouldn't want the Seahawks to release Jamal Adams, but the NFL can also be a harsh business. Unless Adams is on the field a bunch this season and playing well, paying him nearly $24 million in 2024 makes no financial sense. Plus, Seattle signed safety Julian Love this offseason to a two-year deal so Love could simply replace Adams full-time beginning the year after this one.