Why Trading for Jamal Adams Makes Sense for the 49ers

It's a no-brainer.

A potential trade of Jets strong safety Jamal Adams to the 49ers has picked up steam recently. How much would Adams cost the 49ers in a trade?

Probably no less than a first-round pick and a second-round pick.

Adams is the best strong safety in the NFL and he’s only 24 -- he won’t come dirt cheap. Should the 49ers offer those high picks for Adams?

Abso-freaking-lutely.

The 49ers possibly could send the Jets a first-round pick in 2021 and a second-round pick in 2022 -- a fair compromise. The 49ers might feel hesitant about trading their second-round pick in 2022, but they can trade strong safety Jaquiski Tartt to another team probably for a third-round pick and gain back some draft capital. The 49ers also probably would get an additional third-round compensatory pick in 2022 if Trent Williams leaves as a free agent in 2021.

Here’s why the 49ers should make this trade:

1. Adams would cost the 49ers less money than Jaquiski Tartt in 2020.

Let me throw some numbers at you. Bear with me.

Tartt is the 49ers strong safety, the player Adams would replace. And Tartt is good, but not as good as Adams. And Tartt is expensive. In 2020, Tartt will cost the 49ers $6.275 million. But if they trade or cut him, they would be on the hook for only $1.5 million.

Meanwhile, Adams will cost the Jets roughly $7.1 million in 2020. But, as All49ers contributor Leo Luna points out, if the Jets trade Adams, they still would be on the hook for more than $3.5 million in 2020 -- that’s his prorated signing bonus. And the team that receives Adams -- the 49ers, for example -- would have to pay him just his salary, which also is roughly $3.5 million in 2020.

Jets will also take on $3.5 dead cap in any Jamal Adams deal. Adams would only cost SF $5,090,292 ($3.5 salary + $1.5 Tartts dead cap). Which is less than Tartts $6.2 salary. pic.twitter.com/eopSwArABF

— Leo Luna (@LeoLuna93) June 25, 2020

Meaning the entire transaction -- offloading Tartt and acquiring Adams -- would cost the 49ers $1.5 million plus roughly $3.5 million -- or about $5 million in 2020, which is less than the $6.275 million Tartt would cost the 49ers on his own.

Trading for Adams actually would save the 49ers money.

2. Adams could tip the balance of power in the NFC.

The Jets might want to trade Adams out of the AFC so they don’t have to play him often. And if the Cowboys, Seahawks or Cardinals get Adams, that team could vault past the 49ers and become the favorites to win the NFC.

If the 49ers get Adams, they would become the instant favorites to win the Super Bowl. Adams would make the 2020 49ers better than the 2019 team. No exaggeration. He has the talent to determine which team will win the Super Bowl next season. Why would the 49ers let him join another NFC team?

3. Adams and defensive coordinator Robert Saleh would be a terrific pairing.

A well-placed source described Adams as a “turd” to me last week, which is understandable. Adams has demanded a trade -- he doesn’t want to play for the Jets. He’s demonstrating turd behavior.

But can you blame him for wanting off the Jets? I can’t. They’re terrible.

I doubt Adams would be a turd on the 49ers. I don’t know him, but I know how much the 49ers defensive players love playing for Saleh. He treats them like men, not children, and allows them to have fun. His temperament is quite similar to Pete Carroll’s, who most players love to play for.

How could Adams be a malcontent on the 49ers while playing for the best defensive coordinator in the league and behind the NFL’s best front seven? The 49ers are a defensive back’s dream.

Adams said so himself in January. 

I mean fam, can we talk about this 49ers front... a DB’s dream!

— Jamal Adams (@Prez) January 12, 2020

All things considered, trading for Adams would be a bargain for the 49ers.