Pete Carroll: Jamal Adams’ status will take Seahawks up to game day — at least publicly
The Seahawks apparently are going to have Jamal Adams’ health an issue right up to playoff-game time.
The fact that keeps the Rams guessing isn’t bad for Seattle, either.
“He’s going to work through the week and see what he can get done and see if he’s OK,” coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday about his All-Pro safety’s injured left shoulder for Saturday’s NFC first-round playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field.
“We’ll have to wait all the way up to game day to figure that out.”
The always-sunny Seahawks coach was asked if he was more positive Tuesday than he was Sunday in the hours after Adams hurt his shoulder slamming into 49ers pass-blocking back Jerick McKinnon on a blitz in the fourth quarter of the regular-season finale.
“Well, just judging from my general outlook, I’m positive,” Carroll said, smiling.
“I’m more more positive than not.”
Put another way: Does anyone truly believe the four-year veteran who has never played in the NFL’s postseason, who played with one arm for weeks after injuring the other shoulder in November — heck, who lit a victory cigar during a postgame press conference after Seattle clinched the NFC West with a win over the Rams two weeks ago — is going to sit this one out?
His fellow All-Pro in the Seahawks’ defense knows it won’t be easy to keep Adams from making his playoff debut Saturday.
“Jamal is a fighter,” linebacker Bobby Wagner said.
“Jamal is a very high-energy person and a person who is going to do everything he can to get out there on the field.”
Adams injured his left shoulder blitzing San Francisco quarterback C.J. Beathard. McKinnon slammed into Adams’ shoulder on a block. Adams tried to play on, dropping deep into coverage and staying out of contact on two more plays. But he eventually had his arm dangling at his side walked off the field to the sideline.
He missed 12 defensive snaps Sunday. Ryan Neal replaced him for most of the final plays of the game.
After he got hurt Adams went into and out of the blue observation tent behind the Seahawks’ bench so quickly it was as if he’d picked up a burger at a drive-through window. Adams then threw his helmet in frustration on the sideline after the Seahawks’ medical staff told him he would not be going back into the 49ers game. That appeared to be a precaution so he can play Saturday’s playoff game.
Sunday night, before the team flew home from Arizona, Carroll said: “The early stuff from the trainers is that he’ll play next week. But we’ll have to see how he does getting through the week.”
Until then — and much like the Rams’ quarterback situation with Jared Goff coming off thumb surgery and John Wolford coming off his first career start last weekend — the gamesmanship will continue.
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 2:07 PM.
