Jamal Adams named as Seahawks’ most likely cap casualty

Yikes.

What can be said about Jamal Adams that we haven’t already heard at this point? He made 36 straight starts for the LSU Tigers before starting 46 of a possible 48 games for the New York Jets. He posted elite coverage grades in college and as a pro in every season prior to 2020. He seemed like a rising star with the consistency to make a long NFL career for himself. In spite of all this, his pass rush production was about the only thing that carried over when he landed in Seattle. And even that didn’t last for long.

As a Seahawk, Jamal Adams has played in 34 of a possible 67 regular season games; even worse, only 10 of these have come over the last two seasons. Even if his production and level of play remained consistent despite all else, the health concerns are extensive. Clearly, he can’t even claim this much, as his declining performance on the field has been underwhelming at best and catastrophic at worst. For all these reasons (and a few more that we won’t get into here), there seems to be a growing consensus that Adams could be a likely cap casualty ahead of the 2024 season.

The Athletic just released their list of potential cap casualties across the league, and unsurprisingly, they picked Jamal Adams for the Seahawks. The article is members only, so you can see the specific blurb below.

Possible cut: S Jamal Adams

Safety is the most obvious position where 2024 cap values do not align with performance. Jamal Adams ($26.9 million) and Quandre Diggs ($21.3 million) are scheduled to count a combined $48.2 million. Using the post-June 1 designation for Adams would push $10 million in charges into 2025, increasing 2024 relief from $6.1 million to $16.5 million. Adams had 9.5 sacks in 2020, his first season with the Seahawks. Since then, injuries have sidelined him for all but 22 of 51 games. Diggs has been more productive and hasn’t missed games, so carrying his high cap number would be easier to justify.

Adams ended the 2023 season by missing the final four regular season games, the third time he’s failed to finish a Seahawks campaign due to injury.