Is it more important for Seahawks to give new deal to Adams or Brown?

Two of the most important Seahawks players are in the midst of “holding in” as they seek new contracts. Those players are safety Jamal Adams and left tackle Duane Brown.

Huard: Seahawks’ contract situations with Adams, Brown a growing concern

Adams, 26, is entering his second season with the Seahawks and the final year of his rookie deal. He came to Seattle last offseason in a blockbuster trade with the New York Jets that involved two first-round draft picks.

Brown, 36 at the end of the month, is also entering the final year of his current contract. He’s been with the Seahawks since partway through the 2017 season.

Neither Adams or Brown have practiced at training camp as they look for new contracts and it’s unclear if either would be willing to miss regular season games as a result of their contract status.

Both Adams and Brown are very important to Seattle’s success, but if the team has to get one done, which needs to be the priority?

“I think it’s Jamal,” former NFL quarterback Brock Huard told 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny and Gallant on Thursday. “Because I think once you get Jamal done, as we’ve talked about, it gives you the opportunity to lay out the rest of the gameplan.”

Huard said that before NFL coaches get too deep into specific situations in their gameplans, they focus on base offense and defense on first and second down, which are foundational to a team’s success. He sees Adams in a similar light, especially because of what he provides to the Seahawks physically and spiritually.

“Jamal just feels like this is base, foundational stuff,” he said. “We love him, we love his juice and everything he brings. He is very like-minded with the head coach. They see the world and compete in the world the same exact way. This is a young, foundational piece that we have got to lock in. I think that’s the priority, and it’s a much bigger chunk (of money). It’s got a lot of zeroes, it’s got a heavy percentage of the cap it’s gonna eat up.”

And once Adams’ deal gets done, which could reportedly be very soon, that will allow the Seahawks “to tackle redzone and third down and other areas you need to win,” Huard said, meaning a deal with Brown.

Paul Gallant noted that with Adams, there’s likely more risk with his deal because it will be a longer, more expensive deal and he battled a number of injuries in 2020, which caused him to miss four games. Huard said that it’s still clear that Adams’ is the priority over Brown, even with that risk.

“Jamal is still 26 years old. He’s not 30 yet. This is the absolute prime, physically, of his career,” Huard said. “Do you have concerns about his body? Yeah. Does he? Absolutely. That’s why he wants to get some of those guarantees and bonuses … I think from a risk standpoint, I’m pretty comfortable with where Jamal is in his career. Frankly I am with where Duane is, too. I think this is a different era (than some past players) over the course of Pete and John’s (tenure in Seattle).”

O’Neil: When Seahawks decide not to extend players, they’re rarely wrong

The Seahawks have had had many star players earn extensions from the team during the organization’s peak in the mid-2010s, but none were as old as Brown is now when they got a new deal. Huard said that the amount of wear and tear on Brown both in practices and games is more limited than what it would have been a few years ago.

“We’re seeing offensive tackles play into their late 30s,” he said. “I’d be comfortable risk-wise getting Duane done, too.”

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