‘The marathon continues.’ Seahawks’ Jamal Adams breaks NFL record against former team, but says this is just the start
Jamal Adams was one of the last players to jog back into the locker room Sunday afternoon at Lumen Field.
The Seahawks’ star strong safety stuck around several minutes after the clock expired to exchange handshakes, hugs and even photos with Jets players and coaches.
Adams seemed to relish the reunion with his former team.
He spent the moments before kickoff pacing Seattle’s sideline and glancing across at the opponent he knew so well.
Each defensive series, Adams seemed to interact with his former teammates on the field or trade banter with New York’s sideline.
He flapped his arms after one play. He danced with Shaquill Griffin during one television timeout. He consistently sported a smile.
“Throughout the whole week man, just leading up to it, I wanted to stay very calm,” Adams said during a postgame Zoom call with reporters. “I didn’t want to express too many feelings and whatnot.
“But, when I woke up this morning, man, I was so excited.”
Between Adams’ satisfying meeting with the team that drafted him, the sack record he set in the first half, and the Seahawks’ eventual 40-3 rout of the winless Jets — their largest margin of victory since 2012 — there was plenty for him to be excited about that morning, and by the time the sun set in Seattle.
“He played like a real star,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “He did not let any of whatever could have bubbled up affect him in any way. He just was focused and had fun playing football.
“And of course it’s especially fun to beat your old team — that’s just the facts. But, he handled it really well. As good as you could have.”
Adams, who is now 25 years old, spoke last week about his tumultuous three seasons with the Jets, and the trade that brought the All-Pro to Seattle five months ago in exchange for two-first round draft picks, a third-round pick and safety Bradley McDougald.
But on the field Sunday, some of those bad memories seemed to fade.
“Everybody just had different views and we had to move different,” Adams said. “We had to take a different leap, and obviously the trade happened. I’m happy to be here, man, so I wish those guys nothing but the best. I really do. I mean that. I know a lot of the Jet fans don’t really think I’m coming from the heart, but I really am. I’m thankful for my time over there because I don’t take it for granted. Those guys helped me in so many ways.”
Adams said he saw the Jets pull up to their hotel Friday and some of his former teammates got in contact with him.
“I was really excited to see those guys because when you get drafted, you don’t take that for granted,” he said. “I’ve always prided myself on my work ethic and that sacrifice that I always give, and just to know that those guys took a chance on me and drafted me as a top-10 pick and gave me a chance and believed in me, I don’t take that for granted and I will never take that away from them.
“I appreciate the Jets organization for taking a chance on me, and I’ll never forget the memories that I did have and what we made over there. So, seeing those guys, seeing the coaches … it just brings back a lot of memories.
“I do miss those guys and this is bigger than football. It goes back to just relationships. That’s the special thing and the beautiful thing about the game of football.”
Adams certainly showed his excitement and energy against his former team during the win. He finished with five tackles, a tackle for loss, nearly had an interception across the middle early, and sacked his former quarterback Sam Darnold before the half to break a record that had stood for 15 years.
With the Seahawks already leading by a pair of touchdowns, Adams tracked down Darnold in the backfield midway through the second quarter, and guided him out of bounds for a 1-yard loss.
Adams now has 8 1/2 sacks in nine games with Seattle — the most by any defensive back in a single season in NFL history, breaking the record of eight set by Arizona’s Adrian Wilson in 2005.
Adams said last week it would be “sweet” to get his next sack against New York, but he didn’t realize he had it the moment it happened.
“I did not know,” Adams said. “That’s the crazy part. I’ll be honest, man. I was going to do the Warren Sapp dance just to break the record, and all I hear is Pete on the sideline when I chase Sam down was like, ‘That’s a sack! That’s a sack! That’s a sack!’ And I’m like, ‘Alright. Next play.’ But, then I came to the sideline and realized like, ‘Oh, OK. I really did break the record.’
“Not really my idea of how I want to break it, but God is good man. God is so good. I’ve faced so many obstacles, and I’ve failed so many times, and when you fail you realize that you needed that for the perseverance and you needed that for faith. And I gained that and my faith is only getting stronger and without Him I’m nothing. So, those plays I make on the field that’s all the glory to God so I’m just out there just to give it back to Him, man, because he’s blessed me in so many ways.”
Minutes after the sack, Adams’ record was announced across the stadium speakers. He got up from the bench, walked over and hugged Carroll.
“Without my teammates, without the coaches, nothing would have been possible,” Adams said. “ All my thanks go to the man above, because I’ve been through a lot this year with the trade and injuries. A lot of negative talk about me. But, at the end of the day, I have an outstanding team … outstanding group of coaches, PR, everybody. Everybody’s just supporting me, on my bad days, they’re lifting me up, vice versa or whatever the case may be.
“It’s just one big family.”
The Seahawks don’t typically give out game balls, but Carroll said he believed Adams’ feat was deserving.
“It was just worthy of a game ball to commemorate it,” Carroll said. “What a fantastic football player. He’s just an incredible player and he’s not done yet. He’s going to get some more numbers before the season’s over.”
Adams said the game ball is going back home to Dallas — he has the “perfect spot for it” — along with his uniform from the win.
“I’m excited, man,” he said. “It really hasn’t hit me yet that I that broke it, but really I’m just trying to shatter it to be real with you man, so this is just the start. It’s not the finish, man.
“The marathon continues.”
This story was originally published December 13, 2020 at 6:57 PM.
