Quickly signing safety to a contract extension was presumed to be a top offseason priority for the after the eliminated them in the wild-card round of the playoffs last season. The 2021 NFL Draft wasn't going to be as much of a focal point of the early part of the offseason as in previous years; Seattle only had selections in the second, fourth and sixth rounds because of multiple trades. Seattle's 2021 and 2022 first-round picks, a 2021 third-round pick and safety were dealt to the last July to acquire Adams and a 2022
DJ LeMahieu Jersey fourth-round pick.Nonethele s, it's been a busy offseason for the Seahawks. Other core players heading into a contract year have all signed long-term deals. Most notably, wide receiver received a four-year, $69.2 million extension in early April. The deal has $37 million in guarantees, of which $21 million was fully guaranteed at signing. Pro Bowl punter just signed a four-year, $14,699,059 extension with $8.5 million in guarantees.General manager John Schneider reiterated in late April on the day before the draft that Adams was in Seattle's long-term plans. He characterized the draft as a celebration of Adams since this year's first-round pick was part of the draft compensation used to obtain him. Adams is scheduled to play the 2021 season under his $9.86 million fifth-year option.The two most plausible explanations for the delay in signing Adams to a long-term deal are his contract demands and i sues with Seattle's preferred contract structure. Pick Six Newsletter Crafted By The Best NFL Experts Get the day's big stories + fun stuff you love like mock drafts, picks and power rankings. I agree to receive the "Pick Six Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies. By pre sing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the and acknowledge Paramount's . Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. Sorry! There was an error proce sing your subscription. There were reports of Adams having ambitious financial expectations prior to the Jets trading him. According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, a source told him last offseason that Adams wanted to be one of the NFL's highest-paid defensive players. Around the same time, Rich Cimini, who covers the Jets for ESPN, reported that Adams wanted to be the highest-paid player on the team. That distinction was then held by inside linebacker , who signed a five-year
Chris Iannetta Jersey contract averaging $17 million per year in 2019 as an unrestricted free agent.The 2020 season probably didn't do anything to keep Adams from thinking along these lines even though he struggled at times in pa s coverage. In 12 games, Adams set a single-season record for sacks by a defensive back with 9.5 -- which was tied for the 11th-most in the NFL -- and was selected to his third straight Pro Bowl. Adams doesn't view himself as just a safety. He has used the words "playmaker" or "defensive weapon" instead to describe himself. He certainly has a point based on where he lined up on the field defensively for the Seahawks. Out of Adams' 784 defensive snaps, 94 were on the defensive line, 351 were in the box, 173 were as a slot cornerback, 17 were as a wide corner and 149 were at free safety, according to Pro Football Focus. By more traditional position groupings, the breakdown was 94 on the defensive line coming off the edge, 237 at linebacker, 263 at safety and 190 at cornerback. Adams doesn't want to be cla sified as a safety for good reason. is the NFL's highest-paid safety at $15.25 million per year. After being designated as a franchise player by the for a second straight year, he
Jonathan Lucroy Jersey signed a four-year, $61 million contract with $35 million in guarantees where $32.1 million was fully guaranteed at signing.There are 10 defensive players with contracts averaging $20 million per year or more. Nine are either edge rushers or interior defensive linemen who have demonstrated an ability to consistently pre sure quarterbacks. Rams cornerback is the only defensive back among the ten. He signed a five-year, $100 million extension worth up to $105 million through salary escalators right before the 2020 regular season started. Ramsey established new cornerback records of $71.203 million of overall guarantees and $43.703 million fully guaranteed at signing. Adams becoming Seattle's highest-paid defensive player is likely going to be a difficult proposition. There's probably reluctance in paying anybody on the defense more than middle linebacker . The future Hall of Famer signed a three-year, $54 million extension averaging $18 million per year at the start of training camp in 2019. Wagner's contract contains $40.25 million of guarantees where $24.5 million was fully guaranteed at signing.Unfortunately for Adams, NFL player salaries are mostly constrained by position. Adams easily being the NFL's best pa s-rushing defensive back probably isn't enough to convince the Seahawks he shouldn't be paid like a safety. Any leverage Adams may have to be treated differently comes from his acquisition cost. The Seahawks didn't give multiple draft picks intending for him to be a short-term rental. , who is considered the Swi s Army knife of the defense because of his versatility, couldn't defy positional
David Dahl Jersey pay constraints when he became the league's highest-paid safety last September at $14.75 million per year. It's also something Wagner couldn't do. When he signed his extension in 2019, he was legitimately in the league's best defensive player discu sion. Wagner and Rams interior defensive lineman were the only players to be selected-first team All-Pro by the A sociated Pre s in each of the previous three seasons (2016 through 2018). Both have since extended the streak to five seasons. At the time, the average yearly salary of the five highest-paid defensive players was just under $21.425 million. Wagner's $18 million-per-year deal represented a 5.88% increase over Mosley's deal.The safety market hasn't taken a dramatic jump since 2019 free agency when a player sets the new high mark. ( ) getting 3.58% more than ( ) in January 2020 is the biggest incremental increase in average yearly salary.A similar increase over Simmons would put Adams in the $15.75 million-per-year neighborhood. Adams getting the Seahawks to give him an increase comparable to Wagner's would put him close to $16.25 million per year. It might be more constructive for Adams
Chad Bettis Jersey to focus on closing the gap between cornerback and safety pay. Since the end of the 2019 regular season, the top of the cornerback market has increased nearly 33% while safeties have gone up just under 9%. Approaching the midpoint of Simmons and Ramsey's deals would mean an average yearly salary in the $17.625 million range, which is below Wagner, but would be a 14.75% increase fo
