One of the best safeties in the NFL has found a new home. The Tennessee Titans are continuing to reshape their roster during the offseason by bolstering the defense this time around, adding another household name.
Three-time Pro Bowl safety Jamal Adams agreed to terms on a deal with the Titans on Thursday, the organization announced. Agent Kevin Conner of Universal Sports Management confirmed to USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon that the contract was for one year.
Adams, 28 years-of-age, was sent packing by the Seattle Seahawks in March after spending four seasons with the franchise. The Seahawks gave up small haul, surrendering two first-round picks to acquire Adams’ services from the New York Jets in 2020 and then signed him in 2021 to a massive four-year, $70 million contract that vaulted him to become the NFL’s highest-paid safety.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe sixth overall pick by the Jets in 2017 out of LSU, Adams has accumulated 494 tackles, 21.5 sacks, 7 forced fumbles and 4 interceptions in his career. He was twice named to the Pro Bowl while a member of the Jets in back-t0-back seasons, 2018, 2019, and was a first-team All Pro in 2019, when current Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson was his defensive backs coach.
Adams made his name on blitzes, with his 9 ½ sacks in 2020 standing as the most in a single season for a defensive back. However, he struggled mightily to find his footing in coverage and has also been ravaged by injuries, taking the field in just 10 games over the last two seasons, with a concussion limiting him to nine starts in 2023. In the first half of the 2022 opener against the Denver Broncos in Russell Wilson’s return, Adams tore the quadriceps tendon above his left knee, a catastrophic injury that put him on the shelf through the first three games of 2023 and hampered him all season until the Seahawks ultimately shut him down in December.
In Tennessee, Adams will be reunited with defensive coordinator Wilson, who was the Jets’ defensive backs coach during the three seasons Adams spent with the team.
The Titans have been busy, making a number of key additions this offseason, particularly in the secondary. Tennessee traded for L’Jarius Sneed and then gave the former Kansas City Chiefs stalworth the bag, a four-year, $76.4 million deal. The team also signed former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Chidobe Awuzie to a three-year, $25.5 million contract.
