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Brady hendersonESPN
Jamal Adams was overwhelmed with uncertainty last weekend, not knowing which team he would be reporting to with the NFL training camps about to open. After months of wrangling with the New York Jets over his contract and speculation about possible trade, his family could see the stress on his face.
After a long day on Friday, he slept the next morning and woke up to five missed calls from his agent, who was trying to inform him that a deal to send him to the Seattle Seahawks was underway.
The NFL offseason blockbuster swap ended a few hours later.
“When I got the call, I honestly burst into tears of joy,” Adams said Thursday. “Lots of mixed emotions. I’m going to miss a lot of the guys over there. But at the end of the day, man, this was my calling. This was where I had to be.”
If it was unclear on Saturday, when the All-Pro security team took a victory lap on Twitter and danced with a cigarette in their mouths on Instagram Live, it was in their introductory video conference: Adams is excited to be a Seahawk. He said this several times in his first comments to the Seattle-area media.
The Seahawks inherited the last two years of Adams’ rookie contract, and while the plethora of draft picks who have resigned to acquire it leaves no doubt that they want it beyond that, sources told ESPN that they do not plan to give it a extension in 2020.
Adams, 24, initially deflected a question about his future and then said he can “absolutely” see himself in Seattle in the long term.
“The plan is to retire here,” he said. “This is my plan. But obviously, those things handle themselves. When all you have to do is go to the field and act, do the right thing on and off the field, and those things will work themselves out, man.” So I am very excited to be here. I know the rest of the boys are excited to have me, the coaching staff, and everyone else. So again, man, we’ll worry about that when the time comes. “
Adams called the Seahawks a first-class organization, citing that as the reason he included them in his list of seven desired business destinations when he asked to leave New York last month. He called it surreal to play under “legendary coaches” in Seattle and alongside the “Hall of Fame” as Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner.
The price to get it included first-round picks in each of the next two drafts plus a third from 2021 and safety safety Bradley McDougald. Seattle earned the Jets’ fourth-round pick for 2022 in the trade along with Adams. According to ESPN Stats & Information, it was the fourth exchange since 2018 that involved multiple first-round picks for a player. The others went to point runner Khalil Mack, cornerback Jalen Ramsey and left tackle Laremy Tunsil. It hasn’t happened before since 2009, with quarterback Jay Cutler.
When asked about the perception that Seattle gave up too much for a safe, Adams said that anyone familiar with his game knows that he does more than just play in the box.
Adams joins a Seahawks defense that comes from one of its worst seasons since coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider arrived in 2010. A decline on that side of the ball continued from the heyday of the Boom Legion. . Adams expressed his deference to his Seattle high school predecessors, Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman, and said he plans to contact the chancellor.
The Seahawks feel Adams’ alpha personality will restore some of the edge his defense has lost since the LOB days.
“Lots of fun and energy, man, lots of energy,” Adams, captain of the Jets team, said of what he brings to the Seattle locker room. “I’m a fun guy. But when it comes to ball, we’re talking about ball, and we’re going to get down to business.”
Adams already has relationships with some of his new teammates. He knows Wagner from their time together at the Pro Bowl and a trip from Jordan Brand to Monaco, where they discussed a day teaming up. Adams called it a “cheat code” to unite the two All-Pros and said Wagner told him that his addition will take some of the attention off the linebacker’s opposing offenses.
Adams goes back further with Quandre Diggs, who welcomed him on his visit to the university in Texas. The two were in communication as the exchange was in its final stages, both in the hope that it would take place. Adams described Diggs as “like a brother to me” and said that they had already been talking about Xs and Os and their responsibilities as initial security in Carroll’s defense.
Something else Adams is waiting for: playing at CenturyLink Field. He said he took out a video of the Seahawks’ home games to get an idea of the noise from the crowd while acknowledging the uncertainty of whether fans will be allowed into the stands this season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Man, I can’t wait to meet 12! Hopefully sometime soon! I appreciate all the love you have shown me so far. ✊🏽
SEAAAAAAA !!! pic.twitter.com/7UJy9BwabQ
– Jamal Adams (@Prez) July 30, 2020
Adams was conciliatory when asked about the critical comments he made about the Jets shortly before the trade. Among them was his questioning of coach Adam Gase’s leadership.
“I am focused on being a Seattle Seahawk,” he said. “I’m really, I’m at peace with that. We have to move on, and it’s part of the business. A lot of those guys and coaches came up, and they said they’re going to miss me and love me. And it’s the same thing back. I’m pulling those guys over there, I really am. I have no hatred in my heart for anyone. [GM Joe Douglas] Adam Gase, it doesn’t matter, I really wish you the best. And like I said, man, I’m excited to be a Seattle Seahawk. “
Jets running back Le’Veon Bell responded with a few words of choice for Adams when the trade fell. When asked on SportsCenter on Thursday about Bell’s comments, Adams laughed and looked towards the Seahawks’ scheduled home game against the Jets in Week 14, as he did in his initial Twitter response.
“It’s nothing but love for Le’Veon, man,” Adams said on SportsCenter. “I really wish him well. Everyone has an opinion on certain things; that’s just the nature of the beast. I had to do the right thing for my family and myself. And hey, man, there’s no love lost for anyone there. Like I said, man, because of COVID and what we are going through with the pandemic, I hope we can make it to Week 14, because if we do, it will be good, man. Like that. “
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