Seahawks Roster Rumors: Should Seattle Cut - Or Retire - Jamal Adams?

The Seahawks are beginning a new era in 2024 under new head coach Mike Macdonald. Typically with new coaches come sweeping changes across a roster, and some are expected in Seattle.

The Seahawks are beginning a new era in 2024 under new head coach Mike Macdonald. Typically with new coaches come sweeping changes across a roster, and some are expected in Seattle.

Macdonald - a defensive-minded coach - and general manager John Schneider have some major decisions to make this offseason, and they're not all about free agents and potential draft picks.

One glaring issue the Seahawks have dealt with the past couple of seasons is the rising cost and dwindling productivity of safety Jamal Adams.

When Adams arrived in Seattle via trade in 2020 coming off two Pro Bowl seasons where he also earned second-team All-Pro in 2018 and first-team All-Pro in 2019. And his time with the Seahawks started off promising, with another second-team All-Pro honor and another Pro Bowl in 2020.

But since then, Adams has appeared in just 23 out of a possible 51 games, with just one game played in 2022.

For safety Adams the decision seems clear. Weighing his salary against his production it seems there's little chance he's on the roster in 2024. 

But hang on... Let's look at the numbers. 

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Adams will count $26.9 million against the salary cap in 2024, good enough for third-highest on the team. If he's cut pre-June 1, the team saves $6 million in salary. But it also means $20.8 million in a dead cap hit. If Schneider waits until after June 1, the team saves $17.5 million in salary and spreads the dead cap hit out as $10.4 million over the next two years.

The investment the Seahawks made in Adams certainly looks like a bad one at this point. His high cost, injury history, and declining play should make the decision to keep or cut Adams an easy one. But in football, it's all about the numbers and what makes sense for the ledger.