Jamal Adams full go in Seahawks practices. That doesn’t mean he’s going to play Sunday
Jamal Adams is on the latest step as the latest Seahawks defensive back taking incremental steps back from injury.
Coach Pete Carroll said Monday Adams will fully participate in practice Wednesday for the first time since he tore his quadriceps tendon 12 months ago.
“The plan is for him to have a full week of regular practice and take all the reps that we can get him. That means no restrictions,” Carroll said upon his team’s return from its 37-31 overtime win at Detroit Sunday. “I don’t foresee any problems with that.”
Adams practiced early this month in scheme-based morning walkthroughs only. He practiced in main, afternoon drills last week on a limited basis. He took some snaps with the scout-team defense that ran the Lions’ schemes at quarterback Geno Smith and Seattle’s offense.
The next step for the $70 million, three-time Pro Bowl safety is playing the Seahawks’ defense.
“He looked great last week and was up for everything that we put in front of him,” Carroll said, “and he should be able to do that (this week).”
Carroll was clear this doesn’t mean Adams will play Sunday when the Seahawks (1-1) host the Carolina Panthers (0-2).
“Whether or not he plays (this weekend), that’s a different story,” Carroll said. “And we’re not talking about that yet.”
A more realistic target for Adams’ possible season debut is in week four, Seattle’s Monday night game at the New York Giants Oct. 2.
“We just want to get through a week of practice and see how he does,” Carroll said. “Really, with all of the fellas as they’re coming back, it’s always one day at a time. You take the day to see how he did, and you come the next day and see if you can keep making progress. We’re on alert for setbacks; for the guys to feel a little bit sore or a little encumbered from one day’s work and all that.
“We’ll have to wait and see. I’m his best cheerleader. I can’t wait to see him get back out there and play. So we’ll see what happens.”
Adams’ incremental return follows that of rookie Devon Witherspoon. The cornerback and fifth pick in the draft first came back from his hamstring injury the first week of August to practice in morning walkthroughs only late last month. Two weeks ago Witherspoon practiced in afternoons for the first time.
Last week he was full go.
Sunday in Detroit he played in his NFL game. He debuted as Seattle’s starting left cornerback. He was aggressive off the edge in run support. He got called for pass interference in tight coverage on a third down and broke up a pass on a fourth down.
Seattle has a bye after its week-four game at the Giants. If Adams doesn’t debut until that fourth game
Adams not returning possibly until week four against the Giants, if then, makes it debatable if he could have started this season on an injured list. He was on the physically-unable-to-perform list to begin training camp and could have been been to begin the season. But the Seahawks took him off PUP days before the preseason ended.
But starting the season on the PUP list or any injured list would have prevented Adams from practicing into October. That would have meant this incremental return plan could have pushed his season debut toward November.
Getting the excitable, swagg-y Witherspoon then the fiery Adams back — whenever that will happen — assuredly will spice up Seattle’s defense.
“He’s a real fireball, man. He wants to be a part of everything and wants to be right in the middle of everything,” Carroll said. “He’s projecting that same attitude. He’s not holding anything back right now, but we’re trying to do things right.
“And so we’re going to be patient. We’ve waited this long. We’re going to be patient until it’s the right time and we will consult with him a lot on that. It’s how he feels about it, how he conveys that.
“But I’m really pleased to see that he gets the chance to work full go and put a couple of weeks together back to back and see where that leads us.”
NFL admits error
Carroll said he’s learned the league has acknowledged officials were wrong to penalize Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith for intentional grounding early in the fourth quarter at Detroit.
With Seattle inside the Lions’ 20-yard line, wide receiver Tyler Lockett read the defensive back off in coverage so he broke off his route outside short. With no Lions pressuring him, Smith read tighter coverage and assumed Lockett was running deeper into the end zone. That’s where Smith threw the ball — to no one, incomplete.
Officials ruled grounding, though by definition of the rule that foul is to penalize a quarterback for intentionally avoiding an imminent loss of yardage on a sack. There was no threat of that when Smith threw his pass.
Immediately after the call Carroll was on the sideline as irate as he’s been during a game in his Seahawks tenure. He was still shaking his head about it an hour later, after Seattle won the game.
“What I heard was that they were wrong. They made an error,” Carroll said Monday. “I haven’t heard that officially, directly, but I do know that’s what has come back to me.
“It was obvious. It was clear.”
This story was originally published September 19, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
