Raiders are taking a huge risk that Seahawks fans already know will fail

When Mike MacDonald took over as the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks before the 2024 NFL season, one of his first orders of business was getting rid of or not re-signing players who had no right still being on the roster.

Former head coach Pete Carroll, now with the Las Vegas Raiders, was a legendary leader for the franchise, but toward the end of his tenure, he became too loyal to certain players. The classic example of this is Jamal Adams, who was kept around despite his constant injury troubles.

So, when Carroll left, so did Adams, as he signed with the Tennessee Titans as a free agent last offseason. However, he crashed and burned in the AFC South before a brief stint with a decimated Detroit Lions defense. Somehow, he got another chance in the NFL, and to no surprise, in Las Vegas.

Raiders relying on Jamal Adams to be big contributor in 2025

The Raiders, who also have Geno Smith and have basically morphed into the Seahawks from 2022 and 2023, seem to be relying on Adams to be a contributor on their defense this season. The kicker, however, is that Carroll knows his shortcomings in pass coverage, so he's playing him at linebacker.

This may be a solid move considering Adams has only one season with a Pro Football Focus (subscription required) coverage grade above 52.5 in his last five campaigns. However, Seahawks fans know all too well how dependable Adams is at this stage in his career.

Another unfortunate component of depending on a player like Adams is that he simply cannot stay healthy. In his four seasons with the Seahawks, he only played in 34 of a possible 67 contests. This included just 10 games in his final two campaignsAdams' first season with the Seahawks was electric, as he earned both Pro Bowl honors and a spot on the All-Pro Second-Team. This came as a result of him having 9.5 sacks, a career-best, but he has not recorded an NFL sack since.

It is well-known that his best days are behind him, but Carroll must have seen a weakness at linebacker that he thought Adams could help improve. This is a big gamble for the 73-year-old coach, but perhaps that's what he's doing now that he lives in Las Vegas.

Carroll's outside-the-box thinking is what allowed him to become a Super Bowl champion and an iconic figure in Seattle sports history. By that same token, it also held him back a bit toward the end of his career, and he better hope he's right about Adams if he wants to have success with the Raiders.