Jamal Adams is one of the best defensive players in the NFL, and every team would love to have a player like him.
Acquiring him, however, is an entirely different matter.
Adams reportedly requested a trade from the New York Jets this week in the midst of a contract dispute with the team. He is entering the fourth year of his rookie contract, which will pay him approximately $3.6 million this coming season. Adams also had his fifth-year option picked up, which will pay him $9.9 million in 2021. He reportedly wants to be the highest-paid safety in the NFL, and has the 49ers on his shortlist of desired destinations.
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While there's no question as to why San Francisco would be interested in adding such an immense talent, NBC Sports' Matt Maiocco does not expect it to happen for a number of reasons, but two in particular.
"One of them is, they spent money on Jimmie Ward," Maiocco told NBC Sports' Laura Britt. "They signed him to a three-year, $28.5 million contract this offseason, so I don't know that you would want to pay two safeties up around $10 million per year."
Maiocco's first point is a valid one. The 49ers have tied themselves to Ward for the next three years, and you won't find many successful teams with so much money addressed to the back end. However, it is worth noting that San Francisco's current strong safety, Jaquiski Tartt -- who plays Adams' same position -- is entering the final year of his own contract and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
If he has a strong year, it's entirely possible that Tartt will be offered a free-agent contract worth $10-plus million per season on the open market. If that's the case, the 49ers will be forced to decide between paying up to keep him, or letting him go and replacing him with a cheaper option. In that sense, Adams wouldn't present a current financial issue different from that of Tartt. However, it's the long-term effects of Adams' salary desires that speak to Maiocco's second point.
San Francisco 49ers
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"You have to look at the 49ers and where they are in the cap," Maiocco continued. "This year, entering the final year of their contract, of course, George Kittle -- you're gonna want to resign him. Trent Williams will be a free agent at the end of the season. Richard Sherman, Kyle Juszczyk, Kendrick Bourne at wide receiver, K'Waun Williams -- they have a lot of guys who are coming up on their free-agent years and so I just don't know that they can go out and get a superstar and pay him that kind of money.
"I think the idea that Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch will have this next offseason will be to keep as many guys as they can and pay those guys and not necessarily go outside the organization."
Kittle's new contract is expected to obliterate the tight-end market, and Williams could command a large salary as well if he lives up to his previous level of play. In addition to the other notable upcoming free agents Maiocco mentioned, the 49ers also have to look down the road and consider contract extensions for Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and others. All of this is to say that it would be awfully difficult for San Francisco to add Adams without significantly altering the roster.
That's not to say it wouldn't be worth it. If the 49ers went all-in, traded for Adams and went on to win the Super Bowl, it's unlikely you'd hear many complaints. But, they were mere minutes away from winning Super Bowl LIV as it was, so perhaps a drastic shift away from that recipe would be unwise.
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