Huard: Why potential Jamal Adams return intrigues Seahawks coaches

Mar 29, 2024, 10:35 AM

Seahawks safety Jamal Adams reacts during the third quarter of a game against Tennessee. (Abbie Parr/Getty Images)

(Abbie Parr/Getty Images)

Seattle Sports

Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard recently floated the possibility of the Seattle Seahawks re-signing Jamal Adams, who they cut earlier this offseason. But instead of Adams returning to the Hawks as a safety, it would be as a linebacker.

Could Jamal Adams return to Seattle Seahawks? Huard thinks so — as LB

Huard’s thought was met with backlash from some, either because they don’t want Adams to return to the Seahawks or because they didn’t think Adams could be a full-time linebacker.

But last week, Seahawks general manager John Schneider told Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob that when the team first acquired Adams in 2020, the thought was he’d play as an outside linebacker more so than a safety. Both Schneider and new head coach Mike Macdonald also made it clear when talking to reporters at this week’s owners meetings that the door isn’t closed on Adams coming back to the Seahawks.

Some quotes from Macdonald, who comes to Seattle after being Baltimore’s defensive coordinator, made Huard think an Adams return still could make some sense.

“If you want to play defense for us you’ve got to be able to blitz,” Macdonald said (courtesy of Seahawks.com). “Whatever your one-on-one is, we expect you to win. We carry a team pass rush mentality. It’s not going to be built around one guy. It’s prudent to let everyone have a chance to win on any given play. But if you’re going to blitz from off the ball, we expect you to win one-on-one. Those guys are going to hone their craft and figure out what moves work best for them and when the matchups are in our favor hopefully we’re going to take advantage of those things.”

Additionally, Macdonald pointed specifically to the need for his linebackers to blitz.

“They’ve gotta blitz, play man-to-man. We ask a lot out of our inside ‘backers,” Macdonald said (courtesy of The Athletic).

What does Huard make of that?

“He talked about his linebackers have to be great blitzers,” Huard said of Macdonald on Wednesday’s edition of Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. ‘Gotta win one-on-ones. How many times do we say that (about coaches)? ‘My job is to get you a one-on-one, your job is to win it … (Macdonald’s defense) is hard to go against. It disguises, there’s an illusion of pressure, then there is pressure. And their guys are really good at getting home.”

If Adams showcased one thing during his time in Seattle before injuries took their toll, it was that he could get home as a blitzer. He had 9.5 sacks in 2020, which is an NFL record for a defensive back in a single season.

“That is the one thing if you’re going to play Jamal Adams, you’re gonna say, ‘Listen Jamal, you’re a linebacker, and in this system this is what you’re going to be asked to do. And you’re gonna have to blitz and you’re gonna have to beat those blocks and you’re gonna have to beat those guys one-on-one.’ Can Jamal Adams do that? Is that the strength of his game?” Huard said. “When healthy, yes. It certainly wasn’t going backwards (in coverage). It was in some space and it was getting to the quarterback. He set a record obviously as a secondary player, an all-time NFL record, with all his sacks the first year (in Seattle) when he was healthy.”

Plus, it’s likely Adams would only be back with the Seahawks on a one-year, less expensive deal.

“We’re talking about a minimum deal, by the way. Look at the market,” Huard said. “The market has spoken of Jamal and he’s not signed anywhere else. So you’re talking about a very low-risk deal to see if that guy, when healthy, can still pressure and blitz and win one-on-ones. That’s why I think he’s still intriguing to Mike Macdonald and his staff.”

Listen to the full second hour of Wednesday’s Brock and Salk at this link or in the player near the top of this story.