Jamal Adams out of his Seahawks return after 9 plays, yells at NFL concussion advisor
Jamal Adams has already left his return game.
He’s not happy about it.
The Seahawks’ three-time Pro Bowl safety started Monday night against the New York Giants on his former home field in the New Jersey Meadowlands. It was his first game in 13 months, since he tore his quadriceps tendon in Seattle’s 2022 opener. He said Friday he’d been in “a dark place” while out so long, questioning whether he should retire with his latest injury.
He has another one.
Adams made two tackles in his nine plays Monday. On the ninth snap, Adams’ second tackle, the knee of Giants quarterback Daniel Jones appeared to hit Adams in the top and side of his helmet as the safety was falling to the ground making the open-field stop.
Adams got to his feet, wobbly. Seahawks trainers came off the sideline to assist him out of the game. He went into the blue medical observation tent behind Seattle’s bench for observation. An NFL concussion advisor, conspicuous by his red league cap, joined Adams and Seahawks doctors and trainers inside the tent.
They were in there through a fourth-down stop by the Seahawks’ defense at the Seattle 27-yard line. That ended the game’s opening drive.
Adams briefly came out of the tent with the concussion advisor then went back in with him. A minute later they emerged again, with Adams yelling and pointing at the league’s man. He had to be separated from him by Seahawks staffers.
They walked Adams behind the bench and around the sideline, behind the end zone and to the Seahawks locker room. Then came the announcement in the press box that Adams was out for the remainder of the game with a concussion.
Adams was returning under what he loves best: The brightest lights.
“It’s been a roller coaster, man. Real life happened,” the $70 million safety said Friday, three days before he played for the first time in more than a year, in a prime-time showcase on his former New York Jets’ home field.
“It’s where the stars were born,” Adams said.
Adams tore his quadriceps tendon Sept. 12, 2022. That night he planted his leg in the turf while his momentum and body went the other way, blitzing Russell Wilson early in Seattle’s opener against Denver last season.
“It was devastating,” he said Friday.
“I thought about retiring. … I was in a dark place,” Adams said.
“Definitely in a lot of dark times, as far as just getting away from the game of football, getting away from people. At the time, wasn’t really talking to many people. Wasn’t answering my phone.”
Why?
“I had to start over, man. You know what I mean?” he said. “That’s why I call the ‘rebuild.’ This whole time I had to rebuild, start from the ground up and just work my way up.”
Not from football. From doing life’s most basic tasks.
“You know, when you tear your quad, you get a lot of built up scar tissue in your knee,” Adams said. “So I was in a straight cast for, probably, about 20-plus weeks.
“I couldn’t (go to the bathroom) by myself. I couldn’t do anything by myself. I couldn’t be independent, you know what I mean? Couldn’t get out (of) bed. Couldn’t shower myself.”
Adams raised his right hand high, above his head.
“You talk about coming up here, then coming back down,” he said.
He dropped his hand by his side.
“Being in a wheelchair, it’s a different ball game,” he said.
“Mentally, I’m a lot stronger.”
And then Monday night, nine plays into his return, his head shook.
This story was originally published October 2, 2023 at 5:44 PM.
