Former Seattle Seahawks All-Pro Jamal Adams agreed to rejoin ex-Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll with the Las Vegas Raiders this week. But not to play safety.
Carroll explained to reporters on Friday that Las Vegas plans to move Adams to linebacker during training camp.
“His style of play, aggressiveness, toughness and his mentality is really, really unique,” Carroll said to the media Friday. “That’s why we were so willing to go after him awhile back. So to get a chance to get him back in our organization and kind of give him an opportunity to get back in the flow of the kind of play he’s capable of, I’m all over it.
“It is because I know him really well and think the world of him. His style of play is so suitable for what we’re trying to do here about being aggressive and tough and all that. So we’ll see what happens.”
Carroll was referring to the Seahawks trading for Adams in July 2020. Seattle traded two first-round picks, a third-rounder and safety Bradley McDougald to the New York Jets for Adams and a fourth-round choice.
Adams made second-team All-Pro during his first season with the Seahawks in 2020. But his play declined in 2021, and then injuries sidelined him for much of the next two seasons.
The veteran safety was a free agent this summer until the Raiders added him to their training camp roster on July 22.
Raiders Sign Former Seahawks Safety Jamal Adams
Adams was one of five veterans the Raiders signed to contracts Tuesday. Adams will compete for a job with Las Vegas after appearing in five games last season.
The safety played three contests for the Tennessee Titans and two games for the Detroit Lions.
It will be interesting to see the reaction of Seattle fans to the news Carroll is bringing in Adams to play linebacker in Las Vegas. With Carroll as head coach, the Seahawks gave up a plethora of draft capital for Adams, who wanted to leave the Jets at the time.
“The proverbial writing adorned nearly every wall of MetLife Stadium after Adams, frustrated with the lack of progress on a long-term deal with the Jets, formally requested a trade in June,” NFL.com’s Jelani Scott wrote in July 2020. “From there, the relationship between Adams and team brass continued to deteriorate despite the efforts of head coach Adam Gase and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams to repair the damage.”
Adams played a versatile role in four seasons with the Seahawks, so he’s used to lining up in different positions. But he never primarily played linebacker for the Seahawks.
Seahawks Aiming to Build Off Mike Macdonald’s First Season
Adams’ tenure in Seattle ended when the organization moved on from Carroll following the 2023 season. Carroll’s replacement, Mike Macdonald, will be entering his second season this fall.
The Seahawks started the Macdonald era 3-0 and finished his first season 10-7. But they missed the playoffs.
Macdonald’s defense ended the campaign 11th in points allowed and 14th in yards yielded. They were ranked between No. 11 and 16 in rushing yards allowed, passing yards yielded and takeaways as well.
The Seahawks drafted safety Nick Emmanwori in the second round and signed veteran linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence during free agency as their two biggest defensive additions this offseason. Seattle didn’t show interest in Adams, but the team brought back cornerback Shaquill Griffin to add secondary depth.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Pete Carroll Gives Jamal Adams Unusual Assignment With Raiders Days After Signing appeared first on Heavy Sports.