Jamal Adams ended his sort-of holdout yesterday, agreeing to a long-term contract with the Seattle Seahawks. ("Sort-of" because he was in camp, just not actually practicing.) But his 4-year, $70 million deal means all is forgiven, and gives the Seahawks a unique playmaker at safety.
Adams is a safety, but he also plays linebacker regularly in Seattle's defense. Had the Seahawks been forced to utilize the franchise tag, Adams would have argued for the linebacker salary (which is higher), and it would have been a battle. Not a worry now.
But because of the way he's used, Adams racks up way more sacks than any of the league's other defensive backs. He had 9.5 a year ago, tied for 11th among all defenders, and has a total of 21.5 in his four-year career. That's not just more than any other defensive back, it's twice as many as the 2nd-place defensive back over that time frame.
Table shows defensive backs with 3-plus sacks in the last four years. If it were sorted by tackles for losses and quarterback hits, Adams would still be No. 1. Search tools at pro-football-reference.com used in compiling this table.
| DEFENSIVE BACK SACKS, 2017-2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | G | Sk | TFL | QBH |
| Jamal Adams | 58 | 21.5 | 39 | 37 |
| Mike Hilton | 59 | 9.5 | 30 | 23 |
| Logan Ryan | 61 | 9.5 | 11 | 17 |
| Desmond King | 62 | 8.5 | 16 | 14 |
| Vonn Bell | 61 | 7 | 15 | 17 |
| Malcolm Jenkins | 64 | 7 | 24 | 18 |
| Jordan Poyer | 63 | 7 | 21 | 10 |
| Jourdan Lewis | 61 | 6 | 13 | 5 |
| Tyrann Mathieu | 63 | 6 | 17 | 12 |
| Kenny Moore | 58 | 6 | 14 | 11 |
| Harrison Smith | 63 | 6 | 22 | 15 |
| Budda Baker | 61 | 5.5 | 25 | 10 |
| Kenny Vaccaro | 54 | 5.5 | 19 | 13 |
| Mark Barron | 41 | 5 | 14 | 7 |
| Brian Poole | 54 | 5 | 12 | 15 |
| Eric Reid | 42 | 5 | 13 | 9 |
| Mackensie Alexander | 55 | 4.5 | 10 | 8 |
| Adrian Amos | 61 | 4 | 16 | 6 |
| Antoine Bethea | 47 | 4 | 8 | 8 |
| Anthony Brown | 50 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
| Ronnie Harrison | 39 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Anthony Levine | 63 | 4 | 5 | 8 |
| Captain Munnerlyn | 30 | 4 | 7 | 7 |
| Eric Murray | 52 | 4 | 8 | 7 |
| K'Waun Williams | 51 | 4 | 14 | 7 |
| Tavon Wilson | 56 | 4 | 13 | 5 |
| Nathan Gerry | 46 | 3.5 | 8 | 7 |
| D.J. Hayden | 46 | 3.5 | 9 | 9 |
| Derwin James | 21 | 3.5 | 7 | 6 |
| Tony Jefferson | 35 | 3.5 | 13 | 7 |
| Jabrill Peppers | 55 | 3.5 | 19 | 9 |
| Donovan Wilson | 25 | 3.5 | 2 | 3 |
| James Bradberry | 62 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Bryce Callahan | 35 | 3 | 8 | 6 |
| Landon Collins | 49 | 3 | 20 | 8 |
| Taron Johnson | 39 | 3 | 8 | 5 |
| Josh Jones | 48 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| Karl Joseph | 51 | 3 | 10 | 5 |
| Bobby McCain | 55 | 3 | 6 | 5 |
| Desmond Trufant | 46 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| Antoine Winfield Jr. | 16 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
--Andy Richardson