Should Adams play again this year for Seahawks? Wyman weighs in

Dec 20, 2023, 9:37 AM | Updated: 10:34 am

Ravens WR Odell Beckham Jr. reacts in front of Seattle Seahawks safety Jamal Adams on Nov. 5, 2023. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

(Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

BY ADAM LEWIS

Seattle Sports Contributor

Should Seattle Seahawks safety Jamal Adams play again this season?

In a guest interview Tuesday on Bump and Stacy, afternoon host Dave Wyman cast doubt on whether the safety should return from injury.

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Adams did not play (knee) in Monday night’s 20-17 win over the Eagles and did not watch the game from the sidelines. Backup safety Julian Love made two crucial interceptions in the fourth quarter, including one that sealed the victory in the final seconds.

Wyman thinks Adams simply isn’t close to 100%.

“I’m not sure if we’re going to see him this year again or not,” Wyman said. “I feel like that injury is a lot worse than we think. But I would say Julian (Love) is great in coverage. I think he can do pretty much everything, (including) play in the box. Same thing with Quandre Diggs. I think Diggs had a couple of really nice hits last night.”

“I don’t know about Jamal,” he added. “I don’t know how much of him we’re going to see out there.”

Adams has struggled in pass coverage for much of this season after missing most of last year with a torn quad. In the Seahawks’ loss to Dallas earlier this month, he gave up the go-ahead touchdown to Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson. The next week in a loss to San Francisco, he allowed a 54-yard touchdown to Deebo Samuel.

The Seahawks have tried to play to Adams’ perceived strengths–providing run support and rushing the passer–and use him as a hybrid linebacker. But that hasn’t worked well, either. Adams hasn’t recorded a sack in nine games.

“Watching him in that San Francisco game, there were a couple of plays that he didn’t make that I know he would make (if healthy),” Wyman said. “I talked a lot last week about him trying to take on blockers, and he just doesn’t have it. Back in 2020 when he was playing really well and in 2021 he would just rip receivers and tight ends to the ground. Now he can’t do that because he can’t plant on that leg.”

In his weekly appearance on Brock and Salk, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said he expects Adams to play this week against the Tennessee Titans.

The good news: it could be a soft landing for him in pass coverage. Titans quarterback Will Levis suffered an ankle injury this weekend and it’s unclear if he’ll be ready by Sunday, leaving Ryan Tannehill as the presumptive starter. But Titans running back Derrick Henry still poses a formidable challenge in the run game.

“We need him,” Carroll said of Adams. “I think this is going to maximize his chance of finishing the season.”

Wyman, who had a nine-year NFL career at linebacker, isn’t so sure Adams would make a big difference in the run game if he does play.

“I don’t think there’s going to be any big loss because of Jamal,” he said. “He’s not playing up to his potential. If he was playing well I’d worry more about the middle of the field.”