Heaps: Seahawks among teams in Jamal Adams trade discussions

First-team All-Pro safety Jamal Adams landed on the radar of those who follow the Seahawks about a month ago when he went public with his request for a trade from the New York Jets. At first it seemed mostly like wishful thinking, but on Thursday, former NFL quarterback Jake Heaps dropped some news that there may be smoke to the fire.

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“I actually had a conversation with a friend of mine who works in a front office on the other side of the country for an NFL team, and we were talking and he actually said, ‘So your Seahawks are really into Jamal Adams,'” Heaps relayed at the top of Thursday’s edition of Tom, Jake and Stacy on 710 ESPN Seattle.

That’s right – according to Heaps’ source, whose team is also talking to the Jets about Adams, the Seahawks may be getting serious about adding one of the best safeties in the game to their secondary.

“He said, yeah, the Seahawks are absolutely pursuing Jamal Adams,” Heaps said about his conversation with his source. “… I think that trade conversations are heating up around Jamal Adams and that the Seahawks in particular are one of those teams that are continuing to pursue Jamal Adams.”

OK, but what about the logistics? Adams is entering the fourth year of his rookie deal and is set to make $9.86 million in 2021 on a fifth-year option, but the reason he has publicly stated he wants a trade is because he wants a big contract extension – something Heaps previously said dissuaded him from wanting the Seahawks to acquire Adams. Heaps has changed his tune on that, however, due to something else he learned.

“The thing that is interesting about that, talking with this source and asking him about, OK, well, what is Jamal Adams asking for? What does he want ultimately?” Heaps said. “To me, Jamal Adams is in a Quinton Dunbar situation. He either wants a new deal (with the Jets) that is going to match his talent … or he wants to be traded to a very good team. So if you talk about it from that standpoint, I’m all-in on Jamal Adams, I’m all-in on the Seahawks.”

Simply put, the Seahawks could acquire Adams and not need to break the bank on an extension to get him. Suddenly they would have a strong secondary at an affordable price.

“If the Seahawks are interested in Jamal Adams and he’s willing to play out at least for this season on his current deal, I think that that could be a really dynamic trade and a big boost for the Seahawks that could really take that defense and that defensive backfield back to that Legion of Boom type of status again,” Heaps said. “Because as much as we reminisce about Kam Chancellor, Jamal Adams is a generational talent at that position and plays very similarly to Kam.

“…Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams as your safeties for the forseeable future? That’s a dynamic combination right there.”

So if the contract wouldn’t be an issue for the Seahawks, what about compensation for the Jets in a trade?

“The Jets want premium return for Jamal Adams,” Heaps said, noting that it would probably take a first-round NFL Draft pick and either a player or another pick around the third-round range to acquire him. And considering the Seahawks typically get a late pick in the first round of the draft and often times trade down from the spot, Heaps wouldn’t mind Seattle using that to get Adams.

“For me, I would absolutely give up that first-round pick,” he said. “I think Jamal Adams is definitely that type of talent.”

Tom, Jake and Stacy airs from noon to 3 p.m. every weekday on 710 ESPN Seattle. You can find podcasts of the entire show at 4 p.m. at 710Sports.com, on the 710 ESPN Seattle app or wherever you find podcasts.

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