Seahawks GM John Schneider Stands By Jamal Adams Trade: 'Tired of the Narrative!'
Making a blockbuster NFL trade always comes with a risk, as such a move can either bring a team a Super Bowl or set the franchise back years.
In the case of the Seattle Seahawks' massive trade for safety Jamal Adams in 2020, it falls somewhere in the middle. Adams had some solid showings in Seattle, but injuries plagued him throughout his four years with the team.
Combined with his decline last season, it's very fair to say that Adams was not worth the price the Seahawks paid for him. Not just in the fact that they sent the New York Jets two first-round picks, a third-round pick and safety Bradley McDougald, but in the massive contract they gave him as well.
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Despite the disappointing end result, Seahawks general manager John Schneider doesn't regret swinging for the fences.
"Yeah, I'm getting a little tired of the (narrative). The trade portion, too," Schneider said on Seattle Sports. "Because, you know, it was a COVID year, we were picking 20-whatever and in order to go from wherever we were at 20 to get up to pick a guy like Jamal who was picked in the top five, you gotta give up another first-round pick the next year. He came in here, our coaches did a great job with him. He had 9.5 sacks, goes to the Pro Bowl, completely disruptive. Comes back the next year, he's having a good season, gets hurt. Then he gets hurt again - a really, really bad injury. I feel bad for him.
"Now, are there things that we would've liked to have handled differently with him? Yes. Are there things I'm sure he would've liked to have handled differently? Absolutely. But, yeah, that narrative is not cool."
The Seahawks were in need of a playmaker at that time, and before injuries took their toll, Adams lived up to that billing. It was a series of unfortunate events that led to Adams' departure earlier this week, but the concept of the trade was sound.
When looking at just Adams' time in Seattle, yeah, it's easy to call the trade a disappointment. In context, though, the Seahawks' situation looks a lot better.
The Jets did indeed land some good players with the picks the Seahawks gave them, most-notably 2022 Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson, but they haven't had any success to speak of in the nearly four years since the trade. Additionally, the Seahawks would rob the Denver Broncos blind in the Russell Wilson trade two years later, making up for the picks they gave up to acquire Adams.
Sure, the Adams trade may not have gone as planned for Seattle, but it wasn't the complete disaster many claim it was.
