Seahawks place DB Adams on IR, cut LB Clark

Brady Henderson, ESPNDec 30, 2023, 03:59 PM ET
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RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks placed safety Jamal Adams on injured reserve and waived outside linebacker Frank Clark amid a handful of roster moves Saturday, the team announced.

The Seahawks also placed wide receiver Dee Eskridge (ribs) on IR and downgraded linebacker Jordyn Brooks (ankle) from questionable to out for their game Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Clark’s reunion with the Seahawks ends after two months and next to no impact, while Adams — with his bloated cap number for next season and zero sacks in three calendar years — might also have played his final game in Seattle.

Adams, Clark and Eskridge had already been ruled out for the Pittsburgh game. Adams has been in and out of the lineup all season, still dealing with the lingering effects of the surgery he had to repair a torn quad tendon in last year’s opener. He missed the previous three games, and coach Pete Carroll had already acknowledged the possibility of shutting him down for the remainder of the season.

Adams last played Dec. 10 against the San Francisco 49ers and didn’t practice in either of the following two weeks. He returned to practice as a limited participant Wednesday and Thursday, then did not participate Friday before being ruled out.

“He did try to get out there and go,” Carroll said Friday. “We’re listing him as out. He’s not going to be able to make it back this week. He’s doing everything he can. It’s just really, really frustrating that he can’t quite get over the hump. We declared it already just talking about it. He feels like this is the right thing for this week.”

When asked if Adams would try to play next week, Carroll hinted that his season might be over, saying, “I don’t know that.”

Adams’ career in Seattle has fizzled after a promising start. Acquired in a blockbuster trade with the New York Jets in 2020 for a package that included two first-round picks, he made the Pro Bowl that year while setting the single-season record for sacks by a defensive back with 9.5. But Adams missed four games that season, the start of an injury trend that he has been unable to shake.

He missed the final five games of the 2021 season after re-tearing his left shoulder labrum, the same injury he had played through the year before. He then tore his left quad tendon — which connects the quadriceps muscle to the kneecap — in the first half of the 2022 season opener, which required surgery and a lengthy rehab. Adams said upon his return this season that he briefly but legitimately considered retirement after his quad tendon injury.

In addition to being slowed by his troublesome knee, Adams’ 2023 season has been marred by controversy. He apologized for berating an unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant after being diagnosed with a concussion in the first quarter of Seattle’s Week 4 win over the New York Giants, which cut short his season debut.

After allowing a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Seahawks’ Nov. 30 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Adams fired back at a reporter who had reposted to social media a video of the play along with the comment “Yikes.” Adams posted a picture of the reporter’s wife along with the same comment, “Yikes.”

When asked about the exchange a week later, Adams doubled down on his reasoning behind the response.

In nine games this season, Adams has recorded seven tackles for loss and two QB hits. His last sack came Dec. 20, 2020.

Adams has two years and $34 million remaining (none of which is guaranteed) on the four-year, $70 million extension he signed in 2021, which made him the NFL’s highest-paid safety at the time. He’s scheduled to count more than $26.9 million against the salary cap next season.

By cutting him this offseason, the Seahawks would incur more than $20.83 million in dead money, which they could take on all at once or spread out evenly over 2024 and ’25.

The Seahawks re-signed Clark, 30, to a one-year, minimum-salary deal after losing outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu to a season-ending pectoral injury in late October. He appeared in six of a possible nine games, recording six tackles with zero quarterback hits, and played only seven defensive snaps against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15 before being made inactive last Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

Clark didn’t practice all week, with his absence listed as non-injury related/resting player, and was not seen by reporters during open locker room or during the warmup period of practice that is open to media.

Carroll gave terse responses to questions about Clark’s status on Friday, eventually declining to speak further about the matter after saying Clark was out for Sunday and that he was “fine.”

“I’m not talking about that anymore,” Carroll said. “That’s it. I’ve got nothing for you. He’s out right now and we’ll just leave it at that if we could.”

A second-round draft pick by the Seahawks in 2015, Clark recorded 35 sacks over his first four seasons with Seattle, 10th most in team history. After a trade to the Chiefs in 2019, Clark made three consecutive Pro Bowls and helped Kansas City win two Super Bowls. He was released by the Chiefs last March, signed with the Denver Broncos in June and was released in October after appearing in two games.

Eskridge missed the first six games of the season while serving an NFL suspension and appeared in only four games before suffering a rib injury. Injuries limited him to 20 games over his first two seasons after the Seahawks drafted him in the second round in 2021.

To fill their vacant roster spots, the Seahawks signed linebacker Patrick O’Connell, safety Ty Okada and offensive lineman Jake Curhan from their practice squad. They also elevated nose tackle Austin Faoliu and cornerback Kelvin Joseph from their practice squad for the Steelers game.

With Brooks ruled out, Devin Bush will start at inside linebacker against the team that drafted him with the 10th pick in 2019.