The Seattle Seahawks are cleaning house, releasing several players in SS Jamal Adams, FS Quandre Diggs, and TE Will Dissly. One must wonder if the Pittsburgh Steelers might just have interest in one of them.
The one I think could possibly be on the Steelers’ radar soon is Adams, whom Seattle traded two first-round picks to the New York Jets for in 2020. Adams, prior to his release, was scheduled to earn $16.5 million in 2024 and he obviously won’t command that kind of money once he officially becomes a street free agent. Due to various injuries, he’s played in just 10 total games the last two seasons. In fact, the last time Adams played a full season’s worth of games was in 2018, his second year in the NFL.
In his four seasons in Seattle, Adams missed 33 of a possible 67 regular-season games. He recorded 9.5 sacks (all in 2020), 19 quarterback hits, 22 tackles for loss, 11 passes defended and two interceptions. That’s a lot of missed time and it’s obvious why the Seahawks parted ways with him.
While Adams is sure to have a few suitors once he’s officially released by the Seahawks, it is important to point out that Steelers HC Mike Tomlin has had nothing but great things to say about the strong safety over the years. Ahead of the Steelers’ 2021 game against the Seahawks, Tomlin spoke glowingly of Adams and the challenge he presented Pittsburgh.
“That strong safety, we’ve got our hands full in terms of trying to minimize him, not only in terms of in the box, in terms of what he does in the run game, but he’s just an outstanding blitzer,” Tomlin said of Adams. “I spent some time this summer delving back into 2020 tape and just looking at some opponents and looking at some players. This guy is the most dynamic secondary blitzer in football. The rate in which he gets to the quarterback, that is something to be respected.
“He gets on backs. He consistently beats backs in the blitz game in the ways that linebackers beat backs. Our backs are going to be challenged from a pickup standpoint. Our wideouts are going to be challenged on the perimeter running plays trying to minimize his impact in that area.”
It’s also worth noting that Tomlin attended the LSU Pro Day back in 2017 and Adams was one of the main players coming out of that school that year. The Steelers have been known to circle back to free agents they visited with at their college pro days, especially for high-pedigree players, which Adams certainly was.
While Adams has had numerous injury problems the last few seasons, he’s still only 28 years old and won’t turn 29 until October. All of that noted, his signing price will likely be the biggest factor when it comes to the Steelers potentially having serious interest in the multi-time Pro Bowler.
Currently, the Steelers have few other experienced safeties under contract for the 2024 season not named Minkah Fitzpatrick. Those other veteran safeties under contract right now are Keanu Neal and Damontae Kazee. Would Adams be an upgrade over one or both of them? If he can stay healthy, potentially, yes.
Would Adams like to play for Tomlin and alongside Fitzpatrick in 2024? While nobody knows the answer to that question for sure, one could surmise he likely would for the right price.
Overall, the 2024 draft class isn’t great or very deep this year when it comes to the safety position. On top of that, the offseason free agent safety market could swell a bit more by next week’s start of the 2024 NFL league year. In short, Adams could be a free agent to watch in the coming weeks when it comes to the Steelers, especially if his market value takes as big of a hit as many expect.
