Titans agree to negotiate with former Seahawks safety Jamal Adams

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans have reached a deal with free agent safety Jamal Adams, the team announced Thursday.

Adams, a seven-year veteran, played the past four seasons for the Seattle Seahawks before being released on March 5.

Tennessee currently has Amani Hooker and Elijah Molden as its starting safeties, with Adams vying for one of the starting spots when camp begins on July 23.

The Seahawks traded two first-round picks in 2020 to acquire Adams from the New York Jets — one of the biggest moves of the John Schneider/Pete Carroll era — and made him the NFL’s highest-paid safety a year later with a four-year, $70 million contract extension.

Adams, 28, reached his third consecutive Pro Bowl in his debut season with the Seahawks and set a record for defensive backs with 9.5 sacks. He has not recorded a sack since then.

In the first half of the 2022 season opener, Adams tore the quadriceps tendon above his left knee, a devastating injury that sidelined him for the first three games of 2023 and slowed him for the entire season until the Seahawks cut him in December. After returning from the quadriceps injury, Adams said he was in such a dark period that he briefly considered retirement.

In four years in Seattle, Adams missed 33 of a possible 67 regular season games. He recorded 9.5 sacks (all in 2020), 19 quarterback hits, 22 tackles for loss, 11 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.

Adams, the sixth overall pick by the Jets in 2017, has 494 tackles, 21.5 sacks, 7 forced fumbles and 4 interceptions in his career. He was named to the Pro Bowl twice while with the Jets (2018, 2019) and was a first-team All-Pro in 2019 when current Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson was his defensive backs coach.

ESPN’s Brady Henderson contributed to this report.