Jamal Adams should be out of the NFL. He was a trade bust for the Seattle Seahawks after the team sent multiple first-round choices to the New York Jets in 2020. Adams was great his first year with 9.5 sacks, but then he rarely played after that season.
Even when he did play, he was terrible. He didn't have another sack in three seasons after 2020. He was released after the 2023 season and failed with the Tennessee Titans and, for a short time, with the Detroit Lions in 2024. Surely, he wouldn't find another team.
And yet, he did. Former Seahawks head coach granted Jamal Adams' wish to keep playing in the league, but Carroll then moved Adams to inside linebacker. Some had speculated in past seasons that Adams could be turned into an edge rusher, but inside linebacker? No way.
Former Seattle Seahawks safety Jamal Adams might have found himself with the Raiders
Adams not only made the roster of the Raiders this season, but he has also gotten a lot of reps at his new position. Even better for the player, he has been exceedingly good. Not only has he stayed healthy for two games (that doesn't sound like much, sure, but this is Jamal Adams we are talking about), but he is seemingly a natural at off-ball linebacker.
He's played 44 snaps, made seven tackles and hasn't missed one, and has two quarterback pressures. While he has allowed both of his pass targets to be completed, those completions have only gone for six yards.
Is Adams undersized for inside linebacker? Yes. Will he likely eventually get injured? Yes, based on his history. But maybe Adams is finally aware that he probably has reached his last chance saloon in the NFL, and if he fails or gets hurt with Pete Carroll and the Raiders, maybe no other team takes a chance on him.
By the end of his time with the Seattle Seahawks in 2023, Jamal Adams had become a bad teammate (he left or stayed home as his team prepared to play Week 15 after the then-safety was told he wasn't going to play) and a questionable human being. His spat with a New York Jets reporter was unnecessary and mean-spirited.
Maybe he needed 2024 to reset. No team really wanted him, and Pete Carroll, a gem of a human being, gave him a chance with the Las Vegas Raiders this year. Adams has made the most of it so far.