There will be no Jamal Adams reunion with the Seattle Seahawks.
After speculation in recent months that Adams could return to Seattle in a part-time role, the polarizing three-time Pro Bowl safety is signing a one-year deal with the Tennessee Titans, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The signing was first reported by ESPN.com Titans reporter Turron Davenport on Thursday morning.
The 28-year-old Adams had four up-and-down seasons with the Seahawks before they released him in March with two years remaining on his contract. The move saved Seattle $6.1 million against the 2024 salary cap, according to Over The Cap.
However, ESPN.com Seahawks reporter Brady Henderson reported in May that the team was open to potentially reuniting with Adams. Henderson reported that if the Seahawks were to bring him back, it would be to play weakside linebacker in a part-time role with a salary near the league minimum.
Adams would have provided some depth at inside linebacker behind projected starters Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson. Behind that duo, the next three players on the depth chart are are rookie fourth-round pick Tyrice Knight and former undrafted free agents Jon Rhattigan and Patrick O’Connell. Those three have just 19 combined defensive snaps of NFL experience.
Titans are giving free-agent safety Jamal Adams a one-year deal. Adams’ agent Kevin Conner of @UniSportsMgmt confirmed the deal.
Conner represented Titans GM Ran Carthon when he played in the NFL.
Ran’s Carthon’s father, Maurice, and Jamal Adams’ father, George, were teammates… pic.twitter.com/rJqlOWK0wm
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 11, 2024
In Tennessee, Adams will be reunited with Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson. Wilson was Adams’ defensive backs coach with the New York Jets in 2018 and 2019.
Schefter also reported that Titans general manager Ran Carthon’s father, Maurice, and Adams’ father, George, were teammates with the New York Giants in the 1980s. In addition, Adams’ agent, Kevin Conner, represented Carthon when he played in the NFL.
Seattle acquired Adams in the summer of 2020 by dealing two first-round picks to the Jets in a blockbuster trade. Adams had a stellar first season in the Pacific Northwest, setting an NFL record for defensive backs in a single season with 9.5 sacks while using his versatility to play all over the field. During 2021 training camp, he signed a four-year, $70 million extension with the Seahawks that made him the league’s highest-paid safety.
However, things turned south after that. Adams struggled to remain healthy the past three seasons, playing in just 22 of 51 games between 2021 and 2023. His pass-rushing production also fell off, as he didn’t record a single sack in those 22 games. He also struggled in coverage throughout his Seattle tenure, earning a Pro Football Focus coverage grade that ranked in the bottom 25% of qualified safeties in 2020, 2021 and 2023.
There were other issues, too. In Week 4 of last season, Adams lashed out on the sideline at an unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant who had examined him for a concussion. And last December, he made a disparaging post about an NFL reporter’s wife on social media.
