“We’ve got to figure that out because we need Duane Brown.” – Russell Wilson  

It sounds like the Seahawks have made their final offer to Jamal Adams and are now just waiting for him to decide whether he wants to play for them again. So the focus shifts to Duane Brown.

The Seahawks need to heed Russell Wilson’s words and pay the star left tackle.

As we wrote in June, Brown’s deal should be a simple transaction: Give him a two-year extension at $15 million APY and be happy if he plays one of those (in addition to 2021).

Wilson thinks Brown looks more like 30 than 36, which was true last year because the Seahawks managed him really well and he had his best season since coming to Seattle in 2017. If they can replicate that, he should have two or three good years left.

Of course, the Seahawks surely are wary that he will break down and they will end up not getting the value out of him. But that is a risk they have to take. Just don’t give him any Kam Chancellor-style injury guarantees.

Some have said the team wants to get Adams’ deal done first, but Pete Carroll made it sound like they also are talking to Brown, as they should be.

Said Carroll: “Duane is making a statement right now (about his contract). We’re working with him. … We’ll try to work our way through it, make sure we put this thing together.”

The Seahawks would be fools not to extend Brown. As Wilson said, they need him.

They need him more than they need Adams, and it should be easier to re-sign Brown.

Carroll said there was nothing new on Adams as of Sunday. It’s no surprise that this deal is not done. It has long been thought that Adams wants over $18 million a year, and word is the Seahawks do not want to eclipse the $18 million-a-year contract they gave Bobby Wagner.

The Seahawks are thought to already have gone past $16 million, which is the appropriate amount for the NFL’s next top-paid safety.

As Peter King wrote, “I hear the Seahawks have stretched themselves quite a bit for Adams, but he’s still not happy with the offer; and, if you know Seattle’s negotiating stance, it’s not likely the offer’s going to change much now.”

Carroll made it sound like the Seahawks have made their final pitch and are waiting for Adams to decide whether he wants to stay in Seattle: “We’ve worked very hard to make this work out. We’ll see what happens.”

Adams needs to either take the generous offer or make sure he starts playing in time to receive an accrued season toward free agency. (Per the CBA, “A player shall not receive an Accrued Season for any League Year in which the player is under contract to a Club and … failed to perform his contract services for the Club for a material period of time.”)

If no deal is reached, John Schneider likely would have to tag and trade Adams, a la Frank Clark, next offseason (or perhaps even trade him this year). If it goes that far, Schneider surely would end up the loser – not getting nearly the same return as what he gave up (two firsts and a third). And the initial Adams trade would go down alongside the Percy Harvin debacle as Schneider’s worst.

What happens on the field if Adams does not play? Marquise Blair becomes a major focus. His first two years have been busts (Carroll inexplicably held him out as a rookie and then Blair tore his ACL early in his second season), but he clearly is a playmaker and could make Adams obsolete if he stays healthy and follows through on his early promise.

The Seahawks can afford to sit tight on Adams, if he won’t budge. But we completely agree with Wilson on Brown: They need to pay him by the start of the season.