A former All-Pro is headed to free agency in mid-October.
Safety Jamal Adams requested and was granted his release by the Titans on Thursday, NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo reported, per sources. ESPN first reported the news.
The team later announced Adams' release.
Adams played just three games for Tennessee in 2024, his first season with the team, recording four tackles while playing just 20 total defensive snaps. Pro Football Focus gave Adams a cut-worthy grade for those 20 snaps, handing him a mark of 49.8, including an ugly 37.7 coverage grade (on six coverage snaps).
The sample size is incredibly small but speaks to the descent of Adams as an NFL safety. A three-time All-Pro with the Jets and Seahawks (two second-team selections, one first-team nod), Adams regressed from a promising, hard-hitting former first-round pick to a player who struggled to stay healthy in his final two campaigns in Seattle, playing a combined total of 10 games from 2022 to 2023.
Understandably, the Seahawks moved on from him in 2024, leaving him to find work elsewhere. He signed a one-year deal with Tennessee in July but missed the season opener due to yet another injury and landed on the reserve/non-football injury list prior to the Titans' Week 6 game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Adams began his career as a highly touted defensive weapon in New York, serving as a young face of a Jets team attempting to become contenders. He earned two Pro Bowl trips in his second and third professional seasons, but contract demands prompted the Jets to ship him to Seattle in a blockbuster deal that saw the Seahawks send the Jets a package that included two first-round picks, plus safety Bradley McDougald.
Adams proved to be a useful blitzer in Seattle, recording a career-high 9.5 sacks in 2020, but failed to prove himself as a quality cover man. Once injuries began to pile up, it became clear he wouldn't be a long-term fit in Seattle, who parted with him after a regime change that saw Pete Carroll replaced by Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.
At 29 years old, Adams is once again tasked with attempting to return from injury. This time, he'll do so without a job waiting for him.