Giving up a package that includes two first-round picks leaves no doubt that the Seattle Seahawks want Jamal Adams around long-term, but multiple sources told ESPN on Tuesday that the team is in no rush to sign the All-Pro safety to an extension.
The Seahawks plan to wait until next year, the sources said, as opposed to making a massive financial commitment amid the current uncertainty over how much the NFL’s salary caps will drop in upcoming seasons due to revenue shortfalls caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Seahawks acquired Adams in a blockbuster trade Saturday, sending first-round picks in each of the next two drafts as well as a 2021 third-round pick and safety Bradley McDougald to the New York Jets. Seattle got a 2022 fourth-round pick along with Adams, who had requested a trade last month when the Jets wouldn’t budge on giving him the contract extension he’d been seeking.
Adams understands the Seahawks’ position on his contract, a source said, adding that the trade wouldn’t have happened if the safety was going to insist on an extension from Seattle right away. He has expressed his joy about joining the Seahawks in several social media posts, including an Instagram Live video in which he’s dancing with a cigar in his hand.
“I’m excited to be a Seattle Seahawk,” a beaming Adams shouts into the camera. “I’m happy.”
Sources have told ESPN’s Rich Cimini that Adams is looking to surpass the Chicago Bears‘ Eddie Jackson ($14.6 million) as the NFL’s highest-paid safety.
Adams has two years and $13.45 million remaining on the contract he signed as the sixth overall pick in 2017. He’s set to make $3.59 million in 2020 — a $2.765 million roster bonus on the fifth day of training camp and $825,000 in base salary — then $9.86 million on his fifth-year option in 2021.
The Seahawks have been burned before with a big-budget deal for a trade addition who has yet to play a down for the team. They gave Percy Harvin a six-year, $67 million extension when they acquired him in 2013, then traded for a minimal return the next season when his volatility became untenable.
Another benefit to waiting to extend Adams is that it gives the Seahawks more time to evaluate him as a person. It also avoids the potentially awkward dynamic in the locker room with key players who are eligible for extensions of their own but haven’t gotten them — cornerback Shaquill Griffin and running back Chris Carson, for example.
The trade for Adams marked the fourth time since 2018 that a team gave up multiple first-round picks for a player, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The other three were cornerback Jalen Ramsey, left tackle Laremy Tunsil and linebacker Khalil Mack. Before that, it hadn’t happened since 2009 with Jay Cutler.
Source : ESPN
