Titans gamble with the signing of Jamal Adams: How it hits and how it misses
NASHVILLE – As first reported by ESPN's Turron Davenport, the Tennessee Titans have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with free agent safety Jamal Adams. Adams is a former All-Pro and Pro Bowler that has dealt with significant injury issues over the last few seasons. The 28-year-old has played in just 10 total games […]
NASHVILLE – As first reported by ESPN's Turron Davenport, the Tennessee Titans have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with free agent safety Jamal Adams.
Adams is a former All-Pro and Pro Bowler that has dealt with significant injury issues over the last few seasons. The 28-year-old has played in just 10 total games since the start of 2022. His last full season was in 2018.
There's no hiding from the fact that Adams is not the player he once was…but given the Titans' situation and Adams' familiarity with key members of the organization, it's a shot worth taking.
Jamal Adams' Titans connections
Connections are everything for this Titans regime. Brian Callahan's coaching staff is intertwined in a spiderweb of previous relationships. Many of the coaches in the building have worked together before or have second-hand ties to one another.
It's all Callahan's way of making sure he is bringing the right people into the building. People he trusts. People who have the right day-to-day mentality and are down to row the proverbial Titans boat.
There is a clear vision for what Titans football needs to look like, and attached to that is a culture that Callahan, Ran Carthon, and others are trying to establish. That's a big reason why Tennessee was willing to spend money and bring in players they had ties to. If you know the person you're getting, and you know how they play the game, there's a good chance you know how they'll fit into your vision.
Offensive coordinator Nick Holz was with Calvin Ridley in Jacksonville. Brian Callahan was with Tyler Boyd and Chidobe Awuzie in Cincinnati. Running backs coach Randy Jordan gave a big endorsement of Saahdiq Charles. And Jamal Adams is no different.
When Adams was playing at an All-Pro and Pro Bowl level with the New York Jets from 2018-2019, Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson was his DB coach. Ran Carthon's father, Maurice, was NFL teammates with Adams' father, George, on the New York Giants from 1985-1989. Adams' agent (Kevin Conner of Universal Sports) was Carthon's agent during his playing days. We're talking deep, family ties here.
All this to say – the Titans know who they're getting in Adams. They know him as a player and they know him as a person. And clearly they have confidence he'll be a good fit with their group in 2024. I'd have to agree.
How Jamal Adams fits the Titans defense
What do we know about the Titans' new defensive scheme under Dennard Wilson? Wilson has told us that Tennessee is going to play an aggressive style of defense that impacts the line of scrimmage. They will prioritize playing downhill.
"We're going to be an attacking defense. We're going to be violent in our approach," Wilson said in his introductory press conference. "We're going to be smart. We're going to be intelligent. We're never going to compromise for competing. And that's the style of brand of football that we're going to play around here."
As demonstrated with the signing of LB Kenneth Murray Jr. to a two-year, $15.5 million contract during free agency, the Titans are all about athletes who play physical and get down hill quickly. You don't have to be the best in coverage – that responsibility is on Sneed and Awuzie – you just have to impact the line of scrimmage enough to make the job easier for players behind you. Adams fits that bill.
Over the first four seasons of his career, Adams racked up 21.5 sacks. That includes a 9.5 sack season in 2020 that shattered the all-time NFL record for single-season sacks by a defensive back.
At his best, Adams can come off the edge as a blitzer with ease. Both the Seahawks and the Jets brought the safety down in blitz packages more frequently that most while Adams was on the field. Adams is also known for the energy and juice he brings between the lines. If you know this Titans defense, you know that will fit right in.
Jeffery Simmons, Jamal Adams, and Arden Key all talking trash at the same time? Opposing offenses better have some thick skin.
Look, we can't ignore the obvious. The injury concerns are very real with Adams. 10 games in two season is rough. He has not looked like his old self recently. But at the end of the day, this is a one-year contract that comes with very little risk to the Titans. Tennessee has a need at safety, and adding a player like Adams is a perfectly fine gamble when you consider the need and connection he already has to the organization.
Some will say that Tennessee needed a coverage safety, but I'd argue Amani Hooker's role changing from box safety to ballhawk is a real possibility. Hooker has always had a nose for the football. Adams is projected to slide into the strong safety role and start alongside Hooker this season.
I'll forever be a fan of low risk gambles. If it doesn't work out? No problem.
Tennessee Titans to sign free agent safety Jamal Adams
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