Seahawks DB Jamal Adams says he contemplated retirement after leg injury

Seattle Seahawks (2-1) defensive back Jamal Adams will make his return in Week 4 against the New York Giants (1-2), 13 months removed from suffering a serious leg injury in last season’s opener.

Adams, 27, spoke to the media Friday for the first time since tearing his left quadriceps tendon, and admitted he found himself in a “dark place” which led to thoughts about retiring from football.

“It was tough,” Adams said, via Brady Henderson of ESPN. “I thought about retiring. I thought about a lot of things. Is this going to be it for me? I didn’t know. But I knew eventually, after I got that MRI, I told myself I’m going to be back. I didn’t know when or how, but I was going to figure it out.”

Adams, who missed just two games over three seasons with the New York Jets, has missed 28-of-53 possible regular season games since the Seahawks acquired him via trade in 2020. The former All-Pro said that the multitude of injuries he’s suffered over the past three seasons took a toll on him mentally.

“I was having all types of thoughts running through my mind, but at the time when I did tear my knee, that was definitely something I was considering,” Adams said. “I was considering everything at the moment… Was in a dark place. Not on anything suicidal, but definitely in a lot of dark times as far as getting away from the game of football, getting away from people. At the time I wasn’t really talking to many people, wasn’t answering my phone. So you go through real life situations in this game of football.”

Jamal Adams looking to regain prior form

Having not played football regularly since 2021, Adams is looking forward to getting on the field and regaining his form from 2020. In just 12 games that season, he recorded 9.5 sacks — an NFL record for a defensive back in a single season. He failed to notch a single sack in 2021, missing out on Pro Bowl honors for the first time since his rookie season.

“I haven’t hit anybody in a long time,” Adams said. “I’m looking forward to it, man, I’ll tell you that. I won’t take a play for granted. I won’t take a moment or a second for granted. Just to be able to fly on a plane with my teammates is going to be big for me. Just to be able to come up here and speak is big for me… To be able to sit down in the seats when Pete’s up here in team meetings is big for me. I wasn’t able to sit down in a seat for 20-plus weeks, so it’s a real humbling experience that I went through.

“My mindset is a lot sharper. The details of what I went through, nobody could honestly understand unless you’ve been through it. It’s definitely something that I don’t wish on anybody, but I made it out. I’m just looking forward to the journey. I’m looking forward to the season… Excited to be back.”