Jamal Adams

AFC East Rumors: Patriots, Jets, Phillips

August 23rd, 2021 at 11:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Patriots‘ quarterback battle will tilt toward Mac Jones this week, by default. Cam Newton will not be permitted to practice with the team until Thursday. A COVID-19 issue will force the veteran quarterback to work virtually, according to the Patriots, who have called this a misunderstanding that stemmed from Newton traveling to a team-approved medical appointment outside Foxborough. Newton has not tested positive for the coronavirus, per the team, but an issue with his testing cadence caused this hiccup. Like Kirk Cousins and Lamar Jackson this month, Newton’s unvaccinated status has complicated matters for his team. Only unvaccinated players are tested daily; vaccinated players also are exempt from five-day isolation periods. One of the practices Newton will miss will be a joint workout with the Giants.

Until Monday, Jones had lined up with the Pats’ second-team offense, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com notes. This week certainly represents an opportunity for the first-round pick to gain ground. Both Newton and Jones played well in New England’s second preseason game, and OC Josh McDaniels said the 32-year-old incumbent remains the starter. The Pats have not named a Week 1 starter, however. Here is the latest from the AFC East:

Rather than give Jamal Adams a top-market contract, the Jets moved on via a blockbuster trade. It turns out, they were involved in a similar negotiation barely a year ago. Adams wanted to be the Jets’ highest-paid player and sought the $17.5MM-per-year figure — which would have surpassed C.J. Mosley‘s $17MM AAV — that he ended up getting from the Seahawks, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com notes. With the Broncos having yet to move Justin Simmons past the $15MM-AAV barrier, Adams’ ask was even farther beyond the safety salary range in 2020. Adams landing his Seattle extension last week, however, stands to benefit Marcus Maye in 2022. The Jets and Maye were not close on terms at July’s franchise tag deadline, pushing Adams’ former sidekick toward free agency next year.
Morgan Moses has not locked up the Jets’ right tackle job just yet, with Cimini adding that incumbent George Fant has pushed the longtime Washington starter. Fant has split first-team reps with Moses, with the team listing each as a starter on its depth chart. Fant started 14 Jets games at right tackle last year; Moses started every Washington game for the past six years at the position. Despite Moses’ superior resume, Fant is attached to a $9.1MM-per-year deal while Moses signed a one-year, $3.6MM pact after his Washington release. This is an interesting issue for the Jets to have, given their struggles up front over the past few years.
Bills defensive tackle Harrison Phillips seems to have both avoided a serious injury and run into a potentially problematic issue. The fourth-year D-lineman left Buffalo’s second preseason game with an injury NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport classified as not serious (Twitter link). Sean McDermott, however, said the injury is to the same knee that required ACL surgery in 2019. It does not look like Phillips is in danger of missing too much time, per McDermott, but this will be an issue for the Bills to monitor ahead of the rotational lineman’s contract year.
The Patriots attempted to interview Packers executive Chad Brinker this offseason, but Albert Breer of SI.com notes Green Bay blocked the move. The Pats wanted to meet with Brinker about a job helping manage their salary cap. Brinker would have rejoined ex-Packers exec Eliot Wolf in New England. Instead, the Packers promoted him.

NFC West Notes: Seahawks, Watt, 49ers

August 18th, 2021 at 7:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

After starting 16 games for the Cowboys last season, Aldon Smith has seen his career veer off track again. The Seahawks cut the talented edge defender last week, and Brady Henderson of ESPN.com notes the team did not do so because of Smith’s on-field work. This was a non-football-related exit for Smith, whom Pete Carroll said (via the Tacoma News Tribune’s Greg Bell; video link) “couldn’t hang with” the Seahawks despite the team giving the suspension risk a “real shot.” The Seahawks signed Smith in April, but shortly after that agreement, the 32-year-old pass rusher was booked on a battery charge. He also was not in good enough shape to participate in Seattle’s June minicamp, raising more red flags about his 2021 viability. Smith was out of football from 2016-19, but Roger Goodell greenlit his reinstatement last year. Smith recorded five sacks and returned a fumble for a touchdown with Dallas.

Here is more from Seattle and the latest from elsewhere in the NFC West:

The third and fourth seasons of Jamal Adams‘ four-year, $70MM extension do not include any guaranteed money, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes. That said, the Seahawks’ Pro Bowl safety will collect all but $2.56MM of his $38MM in guarantees by February 2022. Because of Adams’ $20MM signing bonus being spread throughout the deal, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, the 2021 cap hit will be just $5MM. Adams’ contract also includes $2.75MM in incentives. Adams can collect $250K for each season he notches the rare (for other safeties, but in play for him) five-sack, three-interception double. The 25-year-old defender interestingly has just two career INTs, but he has met the sack requirement here twice — 6.5 in 2019, a safety-record 9.5 in 2020.
Aaron Banks had a good chance to become a 49ers starting guard in Week 1, but his lineup path will be delayed. The second-round pick suffered a shoulder injury in San Francisco’s first preseason game; he will be sidelined for as many as three weeks. While the Iowa product should be healthy at some point in September, Matt Barrows of The Athletic writes (subscription required) that this should allow Daniel Brunskill to keep his starting right guard spot come Week 1. Brunskill started all 16 49ers games at right guard last season.
The Cardinals won the J.J. Watt sweepstakes, but they hope to decrease the future Hall of Famer’s workload this season. They want Watt to play closer to 65% of their defensive snaps this season, rather than venturing into the 90% neighborhood, Jim Trotter of NFL.com notes. Despite his run of injuries in the late 2010s, Watt played 91% of the Texans’ snaps last season. In his seven non-injury-limited seasons, the five-time All-Pro played at least 88% of Houston’s defensive snaps. With Watt already dealing with a hamstring injury that will likely shelve him until Week 1, Arizona D-line coach Brentson Buckner is hoping to lighten his workload to maximize his productivity and extend his career.
After suffering a foot fracture for the second straight summer, Seahawks tight end Colby Parkinson received some good news. The break will not require surgery, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. This will allow for a quicker return for the Stanford product. Prior to the setback, Parkinson was set to see time alongside Gerald Everett and Will Dissly this season.

Latest On Jamal Adams’ Seahawks Deal

August 17th, 2021 at 6:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

More than 18 months after becoming eligible for an extension, Jamal Adams finally signed one. After initially balking at the Seahawks’ four-year, $70MM offer, the All-Pro safety agreed to terms and began practicing for the first time since January.

Adams’ $17.5MM-per-year deal both makes him the NFL’s highest-paid safety by more than $2MM annually and keeps Bobby Wagner as Seattle’s highest-paid defensive player, which the team wanted. More information has come out on Adams’ extension, which ended months-long negotiations and stopped this saga from heading toward a franchise tag.

The Seahawks threatened to rescind their offer to Adams if he did not take it now, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports. While the team did not threaten discipline for Adams holding in and skipping drills, some hardball took place. But the historically effective blitzer has his long-term deal, with Florio adding some unspecified “cosmetics” are also included, and is signed through 2025.

After news of the 25-year-old defender’s brief stalemate surfaced, a conversation with his mother late Monday night appears to have accelerated his timetable.

“I wasn’t not going to take the contract,” Adams said, via PFT’s Charean Williams. “Where I’m from, we’re definitely taking that, man. Mom called. She called twice, and when mom called, and she told me I needed to take the contract. It was a no-brainer. Mama knows best.”

Adams’ extension includes just $21MM guaranteed at signing, but that figure bumps up to $35.44MM five days after Super Bowl LVI, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones (Twitter links). With the Seahawks almost certainly not bailing on this contract by then, Adams’ effective full guarantee leads all safeties.

While the safety market hit an interesting lull in 2018, a bevy of deals in the $14MM AAV neighborhood from 2019-20 restored it. Justin Simmons‘ second franchise tag led to the Broncos Pro Bowl defender moving the market north of $15MM on average earlier this year, and Adams has taken it to a new place. The Seahawks can now move on to their Duane Brown issue, though the team does not exactly want to hand its soon-to-be 36-year-old left tackle a new contract this year.

Seahawks, Jamal Adams Agree To Deal

August 17th, 2021 at 1:24pm CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks and Jamal Adams have agreed to terms on a four-year, $70MM deal (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The contract makes Adams the NFL’s highest-paid safety on a per-year basis with $38MM in guarantees.

The Seahawks traded for Adams last summer, sending two first-round picks, a third-round pick, and fellow safety Bradley McDougald to the Jets. The deal brought them a fourth-round pick in addition to one of the game’s most exciting young talents.

Adams – who won’t turn 26 until October – has been a certified star since his rookie season. Between 2018 and 2019, only Vikings standout Anthony Harris graded out higher than Adams at safety, according to Pro Football Focus. Eddie Jackson (Bears) was No. 3 during that stretch, and Adams has now leapfrogged him by a wide margin in earnings.

In 2019, Adams earned his first ever First-Team All-Pro nod while notching 75 tackles, seven passes defensed, 6.5 sacks, and a defensive touchdown. Last year, he missed four games with a groin injury, but still showed his mettle as a dangerous playmaker. He notched 9.5 sacks in just 12 games, the most any defensive back has ever posted in a single season. And, with 83 overall stops including eleven tackles for loss, Adams earned his third straight Pro Bowl nod.

Previously, Adams was set to enter his “walk year” and make less than $10MM. Of course, the Seahawks would have been able to franchise tag him next spring, which hurt his leverage somewhat. Ultimately, the two sides reached a logical compromise – Adams gets his mega-deal and a chance to cash in all over again during his prime. The Seahawks, meanwhile, managed to get him for slightly less than Bobby Wagner‘s $18MM-AAV deal.

Seahawks’ Jamal Adams To Seek LB Designation?

August 16th, 2021 at 11:35am CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks can franchise tag Jamal Adams next year for an estimated $13-14MM. At least, that’s the case if Adams is considered a safety. If there’s no deal in place between now and next spring, Adams will argue that he should be classified as a linebacker (via PFT).

There is precedent for this sort of thing — multiple linebackers have managed to get classified as defensive ends, adding millions to their franchise tag salaries. Adams’ odds will largely hinge on how the Seahawks use him in 2021. If he sees more snaps at safety than linebacker, then he’ll be fighting an uphill battle. But, if it’s the other way around, Adams could see a tag worth nearly $18MM in 2022, perhaps $4MM more than the safety tag.

Beyond that, Adams would increase his leverage significantly. A 20% bump in 2023 ~would put him at about $21.5MM, giving him $10MM more in total between ’22 and ’23. That’d be a much stronger starting point for negotiations for Adams’ camp.

At last check, the Seahawks offered Adams a four-year, $70MM deal with $38MM guaranteed. That’d keep Bobby Wagner as Seattle’s highest-paid defender while making Adams the NFL’s highest-paid safety by a healthy margin — about $2MM/year over Justin Simmons. Adams’ camp, meanwhile, wants $40MM guaranteed with all of the bonus money paid out in the first three years, rather than across all four.

Seahawks Won’t Negotiate With Jamal Adams

August 16th, 2021 at 8:44am CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks are “truly done” negotiating with Jamal Adams, according to a league source who spoke with PFT. After their latest offer, the Seahawks are fully prepared to let Adams play out his option year.

After that, the Seahawks can franchise tag him twice to keep him under club control through 2023. (Technically, they could franchise tag him three times, but the rate for the 2024 season would be a cap killer.) As it stands, Adams is slated to make $9.86MM in 2021 — an absolute steal for a safety of his caliber. We won’t know the 2022 franchise tag numbers until next spring, but it’d likely cost the Seahawks under $14MM to cuff Adams for next year. Beyond that, they’d be looking at a 20% increase — somewhere in the $16MM neighborhood — for 2023. Those figures would be costly, but still favorable for the Seahawks.

The Seahawks have reportedly offered Adams a four-year, $70MM deal with $38MM guaranteed. That’d keep Bobby Wagner as Seattle’s highest-paid defender while making Adams the NFL’s highest-paid safety by a healthy margin — about $2MM/year over Landon Collins. Adams’ camp countered with $40MM guaranteed and bonus money to be paid out in the deal’s first three years, rather than across all four.

The gap between the two sides is slimmer than its ever been, but the Seahawks say they won’t budge any furhter.

Seahawks Dug In On Jamal Adams Offer

August 12th, 2021 at 3:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two-plus weeks into training camp, Jamal Adams remains an unsigned spectator at Seahawks practice. The two sides have been negotiating, but the talks have not moved in a bit. More clarity has emerged on this situation.

The Seahawks have offered Adams a four-year, $70MM deal, according to Adam Jude and Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, who add that this extension would include $38MM guaranteed. This offer satisfies the team’s desire to keep Bobby Wagner as its highest-paid defender while making Adams the NFL’s highest-paid safety by more than $2MM per year, but it has not moved the fifth-year safety to sign.

Adams’ camp and the team were part by $4MM per year coming into training camp, per Jude and Condotta, but progress emerged last week that brought this saga close to a compromise. This $17.5MM AAV looks to have satisfied Adams, but his side countered with a proposal that included $40MM guaranteed and bonus money paid out in the deal’s first three years. The team wants Adams’ bonus divvied out over the length of the four-year contract. While bending on these two issues would not seem a major ask of the Seahawks, they are not budging.

No negotiations have taken place since Friday, according to the Seattle Times. Since acquiring the former Jets top-10 pick last summer, the Seahawks had pinpointed this time window to extend Adams. But the process has hit a snag. Both Adams and left tackle Duane Brown are staging hold-ins ahead of contract-year seasons. Pete Carroll has yet to confirm contract talks are ongoing with Brown, with the Seahawks devoting their extension attention to Adams at this point. But this has proven to be a difficult task to check off.

Landon Collins‘ 2019 extension leads the safety position with $44MM guaranteed. That includes injury guarantees. No safety has been guaranteed more than $32.1MM at signing, with the Broncos’ Justin Simmons leading the way there ($32.1MM) and in AAV ($15.25MM). Adams has sought a deal well north of Simmons’ pact, while the Seahawks have stuck to a price range. If the sides have bridged that gap, a deal should not be too far away. However, both parties are evidently willing to wait for the other to blink at this point.

Seahawks May Not Want To Give Duane Brown New Deal; Jamal Adams Negotiations Stalled

August 10th, 2021 at 8:27pm CST by Rory Parks

As you probably know by now, Seahawks left tackle Duane Brown and safety Jamal Adams are seeking new contracts and are “holding in” in an effort to make that a reality. Recently, Seattle head coach Pete Carroll described the Adams negotiations as “amicable” but refused to comment on the Brown situation, which suggested that the club may not be willing to extend Russell Wilson’s blindside protector.

Brady Henderson of ESPN.com (video link) confirmed that it’s unclear if the Seahawks want to give Brown a new contract. Though Brown did play every game for Seattle last year and has finished as a PFF top-25 tackle in each of his four Seahawks slates, he will turn 36 at the end of this month and has battled knee issues in recent seasons. As Henderson observes, Brown barely practiced at all last year as the team sought to manage his knee problems.

Couple that with the fact that the third contracts the Seahawks have given out to veteran players — a new deal for Brown would actually represent his fourth NFL contract — have not been terribly successful, and it’s easier to understand why the team is a bit reluctant to extend Brown.

That is despite Wilson stumping for his LT. Wilson, who was quite outspoken on his desire for improved pass protection earlier this year, said, “[Brown] looks like he’s 28-30 out there. He’s really exceptional. So smart and physical, understands the game, and I think people fear him, to be honest with you, when they’re rushing him and playing against him. So we definitely want to be able to get him back out there. We’ve got to figure that out because we need Duane Brown” (via Henderson).

And amicable or not, the negotiations between the Seahawks and Adams are at a standstill. Adam Jude and Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times report that, although the two sides were close to an accord last week, talks have stalled due to disagreements over contract structure and guaranteed money. Jude and Condotta say player and team are presently entrenched in their respective positions, and Peter King of NBC Sports says the club has stretched itself about as far as it’s willing to go.

Wilson, meanwhile, is willing to restructure his deal to facilitate new agreements for Adams and Brown, according to the Seattle Times scribes. Such a restructure would simply see Wilson convert some of his base salary into a signing bonus that can be spread out over the life of his contract, so it’s not as if the QB is making any concessions here.

In this instance, the Seahawks would rather not take Wilson up on his offer. Spreading out Wilson’s cap hit over the 2022-23 campaigns would increase his franchise tag number for 2024, and therefore increase the starting point in contract negotiations when the time comes. Seattle has $8.3MM of cap space at the moment, and extensions for Adams and/or Brown could decrease their cap charges for 2021, so the club may not need to restructure anyone else’s deal to enter into long-term accords with its Pro Bowl safety and LT.

Latest On Seahawks’ Jamal Adams, Duane Brown Plans

August 8th, 2021 at 5:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two of the Seahawks’ best players are not participating in training camp. Both Jamal Adams and Duane Brown are staging hold-ins, being at Seahawks practices but not working out. The team continues to discuss an extension with Adams, and that appears to be holding up matters on the Brown front.

The perception around Seahawks camp points to the team prioritizing an Adams extension before addressing Brown’s situation, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. While both sides expressed optimism an Adams deal could happen this week, the All-Pro safety remains unsigned going into the third week of Seattle’s training camp.

Interestingly, Pete Carroll called the Adams negotiations “amicable,” but refused to comment on Brown’s situation. Seattle’s 35-year-old left tackle is going into the final year of his contract. His desire for another Seahawks extension has been known for months, but a recent report brought that issue back to the forefront. Brown, 35, is set to earn $10MM in base salary this season. While he will not be a candidate to exceed Trent Williams‘ market-topping extension, Brown has stabilized the Seahawks’ left tackle position and would make sense as a short- or medium-length extension candidate.

Unlike Adams, Brown will play in a new scheme this season. The Seahawks still have Ken Norton Jr. in place as their defensive coordinator, but Shane Waldron is now running the team’s offense. Having Brown back soon would help the Seahawks, whose offensive line drew scrutiny from Russell Wilson this offseason. Regarding Brown’s contract, Wilson said Sunday the team has “got to figure that out,” via Condotta (on Twitter). Wilson’s endorsement here certainly helps Brown’s pursuit.

Neither Brown nor Adams participated in Seattle’s minicamp or training camp. Carroll added Brown will also not play in any of the Seahawks’ preseason games, Condotta tweets. Adams is also recovering from offseason surgery on his hands and one shoulder, per Carroll, who said the fifth-year defender likely would not done too much by this stage of camp anyway.

The Seahawks are on board with making Adams the NFL’s highest-paid safety, but they are aiming to keep Bobby Wagner‘s $18MM-per-year deal as their top defensive contract. This creates a range between that and Justin Simmons‘ $15.25MM-AAV Broncos pact, which currently tops all safeties. Adams is seeking an extension well north of Simmons’; this goal has likely caused the delay in the Seahawks finalizing an extension. Adams is attached to a $9.86MM fifth-year option. While the Seahawks have their 2022 franchise tag to use on Adams, Condotta adds the team began planning a summer 2021 extension upon acquiring the All-Pro safety last year.

Jamal Adams, Seahawks Not ‘Close At All’ On Extension, Adams Expected To Report To Camp

July 26th, 2021 at 6:54pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Just a few days ago, we heard that while the Seahawks were expected to give Jamal Adams a deal that would make him the highest-paid safety in the game (eclipsing Justin Simmons‘ $15.25MM AAV), they didn’t want to go north of Bobby Wagner‘s $18MM AAV.

That seemed to create an estimated range for Adams’ new contract, but that doesn’t mean the star safety is on board with that. The two sides are in fact not “close at all” on extension terms, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. Reporting from earlier this offseason indicated that Adams doesn’t view himself as only a safety, and as such doesn’t want to be confined by the current safety market.

Instead, he wants to be categorized in a unique hybrid market of his own, given his unique positional flexibility. With the historic pass-rushing numbers he’s put up for a defensive back, his feelings are understandable. Adams is viewed as having most of the leverage here due to the fact that Seattle gave up two first-round picks to acquire him from the Jets.

On the other hand he’s due a modest $9.86MM this season, and the Seahawks could always franchise tag him next offseason. Accordingly, an extension still seems likely in the near future. It doesn’t sound like the slow pace of negotiations has created a toxic relationship, as Rapoport said that he doesn’t “expect any issues at all with Adams showing up” to training camp.

The expectation is that Adams will show up for camp on time regardless of the status of contract talks, Rapoport reports. Rapsheet also adds that he still expects a deal to get done one way or the other. “Eventually, this will be a deal that I think both sides will be happy with and Jamal Adams will likely be a very, very rich man.”

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