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Brady HendersonESPN
Giving up a package that includes two first-round picks leaves no doubt that the Seattle Seahawks want Jamal Adams around long-term, but multiple sources told ESPN on Tuesday that the team is in no rush to sign the All-Pro safety to an extension.
The Seahawks plan to wait until next year, the sources said, as opposed to making a massive financial commitment amid the current uncertainty about how much the NFL’s salary cap will drop in upcoming seasons because of revenue shortfalls caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Seahawks acquired Adams in a blockbuster trade Saturday, sending first-round picks in each of the next two drafts, a 2021 third-round pick and safety Bradley McDougald to the New York Jets. Seattle got a 2022 fourth-round pick along with Adams, who requested a trade last month after the Jets wouldn’t budge on giving him the contract extension he was seeking.
Adams understands the Seahawks’ position on his contract, a source said, adding that the trade wouldn’t have happened if the safety were going to insist on an extension from Seattle right away. Adams has expressed joy about joining the Seahawks in several social media posts, including in an Instagram Live video in which he’s dancing with a cigar in his hand.
“I’m excited to be a Seattle Seahawk,” a beaming Adams shouts into the camera. “I’m happy.”
Sources have told ESPN’s Rich Cimini that Adams is looking to surpass the Chicago Bears‘ Eddie Jackson ($14.6 million) as the NFL’s highest-paid safety.
Adams has two years and $13.45 million remaining on the contract he signed as the sixth overall pick in 2017. He’s set to make $3.59 million in 2020 — a $2.765 million roster bonus on the fifth day of training camp and $825,000 in base salary — and $9.86 million on his fifth-year option in 2021.
The Seahawks have been burned by a big-budget deal for a trade addition who never played a down for the team. They gave Percy Harvin a six-year, $67 million extension when they acquired him in 2013, then traded him for a minimal return the next season after his volatility became untenable.
Another benefit to waiting to extend Adams is that it gives the Seahawks more time to evaluate him as a person. It also avoids a potentially awkward dynamic in the locker room with key players who are eligible for extensions but haven’t gotten them, such as cornerback Shaquill Griffin and running back Chris Carson.
The trade for Adams marked the fourth time since 2018 that a team gave up multiple first-round picks for a player, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. The other three such players were cornerback Jalen Ramsey, left tackle Laremy Tunsil and linebacker Khalil Mack. Before that, it hadn’t happened since Jay Cutler in 2009.