The Cleveland Browns were wise not to trade for Jamal Adams

The New York Jets traded Jamal Adams to the Seattle Seahawks, and thankfully the Cleveland Browns weren’t interested in Adams.

Jamal Adams might just be one of, if not the best safety in the NFL right now. Yet, to trade one, let alone two first-round draft picks to acquire a guy who’s not guaranteed to stay on your team when his contract is up is not a great idea for the Cleveland Browns. Adams is only under contract until the end of the 2021 season. The Seahawks are sending their 2021 and 2022 first-round picks, as well as a 2021 third-round pick, and veteran Bradley McDougald to the Jets in exchange for Adams and a fourth-round pick in 2022.

The deal is steep, but it’s not unwarranted. Adams is an elite level player over his first few years in the NFL and could be a game-changer on defense. Yet, for three high picks in the NFL pick? That seems steep, especially since he might be gone in two years. The Browns were never officially in the hunt for Adams that we’re aware of, but fans of the organization had hoped the Browns would go after Adams in an attempt to solidify a fairly questionable secondary.

After seeing what Adams went for, it’s a good thing the Browns didn’t get involved.

The Browns are not in a place where they have so much talent they can just hand off first-round picks to people, even if the guy you’re getting back is a stud. They’re going to need to replace guys very soon as contracts come up. With so much money tied into Myles Garrett, the receivers, and new contracts for Nick Chubb, Baker Mayfield, and Denzel Ward all due eventually, the team just wouldn’t be able to maintain it’s current structure with the addition of Adams’ financial hit.

On top of that, it’s still likely that a player like Odell Beckham Jr. gets traded at some point to clear cap space and not become the type of team that just lets everyone go because they mismanaged their cap.

Adams will fit in nicely for the Seahawks, but the Browns were just not in a position to mortgage their future for the sake of one really good safety.