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Brady HendersonESPN
SEATTLE – Seahawks will not know if they will have a strong All-Pro safety, Jamal Adams, for the wild card match with the Los Angeles Rams until game day, according to coach Pete Carroll.
Adams injured his left shoulder in the fourth quarter of the regular season finale in Seattle against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. He returned briefly, then finished the game on the sidelines. Carroll said after the game that the initial word of the Seahawks medical staff was that Adams would be able to play this weekend, but it seemed to have rejected the great initial optimism.
“He will work during the week and see what he can do and see if he’s okay,” Carroll said Tuesday, just before the first practice of the week at Seahawks. “We’ll have to wait until game day to figure it out.”
Adams, acquired in a successful deal with the New York Jets last summer, led the Seahawks with 9.5 sacks in the regular season, an NFL record for a defensive back. That was despite missing four games with a groin injury. He returned in week 9, then a week later suffered an injury to his right shoulder through which he played, in addition to two broken fingers on his left hand.
After the Seahawks won a postseason spot in Week 15, Adams shouted enthusiastically during his post-game video conference about going into the playoffs for the first time in his career. He lit a cigar in the room after the Seahawks defeated the Rams a week later for the NFC West title.
“He hasn’t been to the playoffs and he wants to be a part of that and all that, so he kind of crushed him,” Carroll told ESPN Seattle on Monday 710 when talking about Adams’ last shoulder injury. “It’s very emotional and everything, and he’ll handle it. We’ll see what happens (Monday) and the next two days, we’ll see how it all feels. But he was hurt and he fixed it, he wanted to go back inside. “We had to take his helmet and all that on the sidelines because he wanted to fight his boys. So we’ll see what happens. I can’t tell you now. I don’t know.”
An All-Pro in 2019, Adams was recently named in his third consecutive Pro Bowl.
Ryan Neal took over with strong safety when Adams was injured against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3 and sealed Seattle’s victory with an interception by Dak Prescott in the end zone. The 2018 free agent started the next four games and had another interception.
“We have a lot of confidence in Ryan because of the way he played,” Carroll said. “… He showed us that he plays very hard, he is tough, he is a game player, he is very aggressive in his style of play. play it. “
Carroll also said that defensive striker Jarran Reed feels “much better” than he was on Sunday after the game after straining his oblique. Carroll called this a reason for optimism.
“We will be very careful with him during the week and we will see how he goes day by day,” Carroll said.
In addition, Carroll expects backer Carlos Hyde to return this week after missing the 49ers game with a non-COVID-related illness. And debutant defensive end Darrell Taylor practiced for the first time on Tuesday; The Seahawks’ pick in the second round was on the list of football-free injuries all season due to a foot injury.