Seahawks admit George Kittle played role in Jamal Adams trade

The Seattle Seahawks made the blockbuster trade to deal with a gamebreaking rival

For the majority of the 2020 year, safety Jamal Adams has been orchestrating his exit from the New York Jets due to miscommunication over contract negotiations. Adams provided his list of desired destinations, mostly to playoff contenders. But the Seattle Seahawks jumped over the likes of the Dallas Cowboys and offered first-round picks over the next two years and a 2021 third-round pick to the Jets for Adams’ services.

The Seahawks were criticized for surrendering so much draft capital for a safety, but general manager John Schneider revealed why he pulled the trigger on the trade. That reason, was to stop playmaking tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, George Kittle.

“But you have to have so much speed on the back, especially when we’re playing against Kyler Murray and George Kittle and Robert Woods and all these guys that seem like they are just running all over the place,” Schneider told NBC Sports’ Peter King on “Peter King Podcast.” “You’ve got to have as much speed on the field. So adding a guy like Jamal who has that versatility to play down in the box and play in the hole and play man coverage is really important to us.”

Adams significantly improves Seattle’s secondary

It’s no secret that Kittle is a game-wrecker for the 49ers. It’s even more shocking that he was the ninth tight end taken in the 2017 NFL Draft and he’s leaps and bounds better than the ones taken before him (i.e. OJ Howard, Evan Engram, David Njoku, etc.)

As San Francisco’s starting tight end the past two years, Kittle hauled in a total of 173 passes for 2,430 yards and ten touchdowns. Seattle definitely knows how much he can open up the offense for the 49ers. In five games against Kittle, the Seahawks allowed him to record 19 receptions on 28 targets for 234 yards (12.32 yards per reception), per Pro Football Reference. That average yardage is guaranteed first down, which isn’t ideal considering Seattle-San Francisco games always go down to the wire.

Last year, the Seahawks pass defense was among the worst in the league. In total, the Seahawks surrendered 4,223 (sixth-most in NFL) and an average of 7.4 yards per reception (12th highest), per NFL.com.

Adams definitely improves Seattle’s defensive backfield, as he only allowed 21 catches for 185 yards and two touchdowns on 38 targets last year, according to Pro Football Reference.

You can’t blame Schneider for making the move for Adams. Quarterback Russell Wilson, despite his tremendous play, is only getting older and the window for him to potentially win his second Super Bowl is now. But, their main road block to the big game are the 49ers. Schneider is banking on Adams making Kittle a non-factor in their two meetings per year to make that dream a reality.