Jamal Adams wasn’t at Lumen Field for any of his Seahawks’ rally past the Eagles
The Seahawks’ biggest, most dramatic win of the season so far happened without Jamal Adams.
Not just without him on the field. Without the $70 million safety even in the stadium.
Adams wasn’t at Lumen Field after coach Pete Carroll and the Seahawks decided he wasn’t playing their must-win game Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Adams didn’t practice all last week after playing at San Francisco and getting beaten for big plays, including a 54-yard touchdown pass to Deebo Samuel behind him in what was then Seattle’s fourth consecutive loss.
“I think he was home,” Carroll said of Adams on KIRO-AM radio Tuesday, the morning after the Seahawks’ rallied past the Eagles for a 20-17 victory that keeps them in realistic contention for the playoffs with three games remaining.
“It was hard on him. We talked about it, and how he was going to deal with it.
“And he didn’t need to be there.”
The Seahawks named Adams as one of their inactive players for the game 90 minutes before kickoff. He did not appear to be on the field during pregame warm-ups or the sidelines during the game Monday night.
Julian Love was the safety with Quandre Diggs for all 69 of Seattle’s defensive plays against the Eagles. Love had two crucial interceptions of Philadelphia Pro Bowl quarterback Jalen Hurts in the fourth quarter. The first was when the Eagles’ Quez Watkins tried to get behind Love and Love leaped in front of him to intercept the pass in the end zone with 8 minutes left when it appeared Philadelphia was cruising to a two-score lead. Love’s second interception with 8 seconds left sealed the comeback him.
The Seahawks played three safeties — Adams, Love and Diggs — against the 49ers the previous week. That was with rookie cornerback and nickel back Devon Witherspoon out injured, as he was again Monday night.
Against the Eagles, without Witherspoon and Adams, the Seahawks used Love and Diggs as safeties and veteran Artie Burns inside at nickel. Tre Brown started at left cornerback and Mike Jackson replaced benched Riq Woolen at right cornerback.
The Seattle defense that allowed San Francisco 527 yards and Brock Purdy 327 yards passing the previous week allowed defending NFC-champion Philadelphia (10-4) 321 yards and Pro Bowl and Super Bowl quarterback Hurts just 143 yards passing Monday night.
Carroll said Adams will be back this week to play for the Seahawks (7-7) at Tennessee (5-9), because the Titans are “hard-nosed” and run the ball with lead back Derrick Henry.
“We need him,” Carroll said of Adams against the Titans on Christmas Eve.
“I think this is going to maximize his chance to finish the season.”
After the 49ers game 10 days ago Carroll uncharacteristically called out Adams last week for not playing as he’d been coached to defend some of the 49ers’ favorite plays.
Adams has remained on injury reports because of chronic knee pain he’s had since he made his season debut Oct. 2. That followed 13 months of recovery and rehabilitation from a torn quadriceps tendon.
Not remaining at the stadium for a game and choosing to not be with teammates is, well, unusual.
It’s not what Geno Smith did after the Seahawks told him he wasn’t playing, either, Monday night.
The regular starting quarterback surprised his team with a hard workout of his injured groin 2-1/2 hours before kickoff.
Carroll then broke the news to Smith just before kickoff that, while he was active to play the game, backup Drew Lock was going to quarterback the Seahawks against the Eagles.
Down by four points late, Lock led Seattle with five completions on the game-winning drive in the final 1:52. It covered 92 yards, the team’s longest touchdown drive this season.
Before Lock jogged onto the field for the final drive and touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba with 28 seconds left, Smith told Lock on the sideline: “You’re the best player on this field! You’re going to lead us down this field right now! Go get it done!”
Carroll said the decision to not play Smith was “gut-wrenching” and it “took him a while to get through it,” before Smith stood on the sidelines wearing a headset, coat and knit cap and supported Lock to the win.
Carroll said Smith will practice this week, and the team expects him to be healthy enough, thanks to him sitting out Monday night, to start instead of Lock on Sunday at Tennessee.
Adams had started his first six games of his return this season, including after a concussion and following Seattle’s bye week in October, until he missed the team’s loss at the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 18. He started the previous three games before missing Monday night.
Carroll said, again, Adams has had a hard time dealing with the knee pain doctors told the three-time Pro Bowl safety he would have in 2024 following his extensive surgery late last year.
“Oh, it’s been so difficult on him,” Carroll said Tuesday. “He has not been able to get all the way where he’s got everything feeling right.
“And so we’ve been working with him all season, working the recovery versus the preparation mode, and it’s been hard. This is a very, very difficult injury, and he’s doing everything he can. He had an extraordinary offseason to make this, to get this far. So we are trying to manage him through it. ...
“We’re just trying to help him be as powerful and strong as he can be, and match (him) up with the game plan.
“You know, he wants to play. He and Geno, they went through the similar warrior mentality to do anything to play. I understand them. I think I feel them so close that it kills me to have to talk to them about stuff when we have to make those kinds of decisions.”
Adams and Smith had different ways of processing that decision into late Monday night.
“But in the long run of it, if we can use the instincts and the wisdom and all the information that we have, maybe we can make good decisions,” Carroll said. “I’m not saying we’re always right. But I feel them.
“People don’t understand on the outside how big a deal this is to these young men. And I’m right there with them, sweatin’ it out and cryin’ it out, whatever it takes to get through these times. It just breaks your heart to have to see guys miss their game because of an injury or an issue.”
This story was originally published December 19, 2023 at 10:22 AM.
