‘Jamal is back’: Pete Carroll is clear. Jamal Adams will return for Seahawks, at New York
Pete Carroll couldn’t have been more clear if he’d put it on a billborard n Times Square.
“Jamal is back.”
That’s what the Seahawks coach said Monday about Jamal Adams returning to play for the first time in more than a year, next Monday night then Seattle (2-1) plays at the New York Giants (1-2).
Carroll said on his weekly appearance on KIRO-AM radio the morning after Seattle’s 37-27 victory over Carolina his biggest challenge over the next eight days is to keep Adams from being too excited for the Giants game. The coach said he’s already talked with Adams about it.
The three-time Pro Bowl and $70 million safety is make his return from a torn quadriceps tendon in the New Jersey Meadowlands stadium where he starred his first three NFL seasons. That was for the Jets. They traded him to Seattle in July 2020 and got two first-round draft choices from the Seahawks for him.
Seattle hasn’t gotten enough bang for all its bucks and picks they spent getting Adams. He last played almost 13 months ago, Sept. 12, 2022. He got injured blitzing Russell Wilson in the first half of the Seahawks’ opener against Denver last season. He’s missed 29 1/2 games in the four seasons since Seattle acquired him then signed him in the summer of 2021 to the richest contract for a safety in NFL history.
That deal came after he set a league record for defensive backs with 9 1/2 sacks debuting for the Seahawks in 2020. In 2021, he blitzed far less and played coverage more back in a defensive secondary Carroll didn’t trust to play single-high safety coverage and Adams closer to the line of scrimmage. Teams attacked Adams’ coverage.
This year, the Seahawks signed former Giants captain Julian Love to be a coverage safety back with Pro Bowl veteran Quandre Diggs. That will Carroll and defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt to use Adams more like the team did in 2020, blitzing and as a hybrid linebacker closer to the line against runs.
Carroll and Hurtt wanted to play more three safeties with Adams up close to line last season. Then he got hurt before halftime of the first game and hasn’t played since.
So next Monday night will likely be the unveiling of Seattle’s three-safety defense with Adams doing what he does best, charging into the line and opposing backfields. That will change the Seahawks schematically on a defense that is 31st in the NFL against the pass and seventh against the run.
The plan is for Adams to boost a pass rush that has just five sacks through three games, 24th in the league. The Seahawks are 27th in pressure rate on opposing quarterbacks’ attempts to throw, 11.6%, per Pro Football Reference. Their rate of blitzing, 13.8% (25th in the league) is about to rise with Adams’ return.
“Jamal will be playing,” is all Carroll said Sunday following the win over Carolina about how the team will use Adams.
He wasn’t about to put that on a billboard in Times Square for the Giants.
Team trainers and doctors have taken a slow, incremental approach to Adams’ return. His injury is a complicated one. They have had him in morning walkthrough practices then scout-team work in main practices for week. Last week, he practiced fully with the defense for the first time.
The Seahawks have been cautious, wanting Adams to play all of the final 14 games of the regular season and, they hope, playoff games upon his return.
Linebacker Jordyn Brooks trained in Texas with Adams all offseason into the summer, on dual rehabilitations. They competed in rehab exercises and 40-yard sprints during their recoveries. Brooks came back to play in the opener this month, eight months following a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee and reconstructive surgery.
“I’m so happy for that guy. As you know, he and I rehabbed together in the offseason in Dallas,” Brooks said. “I’ve seen him every step of the way. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I’m his number one supporter.
“I can’t wait for him to get back out there. I was telling him at the end of (the Panthers) game: ‘It’s time now. It’s time.’
“I’m just excited for him to get out there after missing a whole year.”
This story was originally published September 25, 2023 at 10:39 AM.
