Jamal Adams Says He Plans To Retire With Seahawks

New Seahawks S Jamal Adams spoke to reporters for the first time since he was acquired in the trade with the Jets. 

Adams says he’s happy to be in Seattle and is hoping to retire as a member of the Seahawks.

“The plan is to retire here,” Adam said, per Curtis Crabtree. “That is my plan. But all of those things handle themselves. … I’ve very excited to be here. … We’ll worry about that when the time comes.”

Adams said he “broke down in tears of joy” upon learning of the trade to the Seahawks. 

“Honestly when I got the call I broke down in tears of joy. A lot of mixed emotions,” Adams said, per Crabtree. 

“This is my calling. I’m here to stay. I’m excited to be a Seattle Seahawk,” Adams added, per Crabtree.

Adams is still in need of a long-term extension, but it sounds like contract talks won’t pick up until next year.

ESPN’s Brady Henderson reported that the Seahawks are in no rush to sign him to an extension and plan to wait to pick up negotiations until next offseason. 

Seattle’s reticence is due to the pending financial uncertainty because of expected revenue loss from the pandemic. The cap in 2021 could drop as low as $175 million from 2020’s $198 million number. 

Henderson adds Adams understands the situation and is on board with the plan after the Jets’ reticence to negotiate helped prompt his dissatisfaction with the team. Henderson notes Seattle wouldn’t have pulled the trigger on the trade otherwise. 

However, Adams’ goal of becoming the NFL’s highest-paid safety remains. Bears S Eddie Jackson currently leads all safeties at $14.6 million per year. 

Adams, 24, is a former first-round pick of the Jets back in 2017. He just finished the third year of his four-year contract worth $22,256,084, which includes a signing bonus of $14,326,244.

Adams is set to make a base salary of $735,000 in 2020 with a $2.76 million roster bonus also counting against the cap. 

The Jets exercised Adams’ fifth-year option before the draft, which will carry over to Seattle at the cost of $9.86 million for the 2021 season. This figure is guaranteed for injury only and won’t prevent them from working on a long-term extension in the next year or so. 

In 2019, Adams appeared in 14 games for the Jets and recorded 75 tackles, 6.5 sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles, one recovery, two defensive touchdowns and seven pass defenses.