Seattle Seahawks' Jamal Adams, Duane Brown latest in NFL's new camp trend of 'holding in'

By Randy Mueller
Special to FOX Sports

The dynamics of an NFL contract holdout have changed dramatically in the past year, thanks to the new collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players' association.

A player who holds out while under contract is now subject to a $50,000 fine per day, and the team is obligated by the CBA to apply the fine. It’s no longer at the club’s discretion. 

To that end, it took NFL players and agents less than a year to find a new way to withhold services. Players now report to camp but refuse to practice. 

Whether this tactic is ethical or not and to what level an individual player takes his case are topics for another day. However, the pressure points and mechanics of this new fad have forced teams to think deeply because whichever lane they pick in dealing with disgruntled players will set club policy for the future. 

And trust me: I've been on the inside of many of these deals, and club policy is very important to ownership and management. A lot of thought must go into the strategy for dealing with players "holding in."

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Recently, I was on a local radio show in Seattle and was asked a couple of questions that made me think. The outside world of fans and media see these "hold-ins" totally differently than club officials and people on the inside.

Seattle is the prime example of this phenomenon this summer, as the Seahawks are dealing with two such cases.

All-Pro safety Jamal Adams, who was acquired last year for the hefty price of two first-round picks and a third-rounder, is looking to be paid at his self-proclaimed position of "playmaker" — which, incidentally, does not exist in the vernacular of any CBA or NFL front office.

Adams is joined on the sideline at Seahawks camp by veteran left tackle Duane Brown, another player jettisoned by his previous team because he was unhappy with his contract. Brown held out in Houston in 2017 and missed six games before being dealt to Seattle. 

For this reason, it can’t be a surprise that Seattle is now dealing with contract issues for both players. Plus, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has always been known as a player’s coach who provides an outlet for guys to speak their minds. 

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Around the league, though, teams have handled players "holding in" differently. 

Last year, Minnesota worked out a longer-term deal with running back Dalvin Cook while he had one foot in and one foot out of training camp. 

On the other hand, the Los Angeles Chargers did not work out a longer-term deal with linebacker Melvin Ingram but did slide some incentive money forward to coax him back to practice. Ingram is now long gone from the Chargers' roster, having signed a free-agent deal with Pittsburgh. 

Teams do not force players to make these decisions, but these choices carry repercussions. If a player is willing to do this, he has to accept the consequences, no matter how the deal works out … or doesn't.

Anyway, back to the radio show. The host asked me: "Should Seahawks fans be in a panic over these players not being happy and not practicing?" If I’m being 100 percent honest, I’d never thought of it. Why would anyone panic?

They are eventually going to start playing games, and these guys won’t miss a paycheck. After all, the next three weeks are not nearly as important as the next three years.

The next question was: "Whom should the team pay, if you could only have one?" Again, I’d never thought about it. 

The reason I even bring this up is that I had no clue people — fans and media, in this case — would even think this way. These players are not going anywhere. The Seahawks are not going to have to decide which one they’d rather have, and truth be told, the team really doesn’t care if these players practice until the week before the first game. 

However, these are the narratives created each and every day in the ramp-up to the NFL season. 

It’s the job of the player and agent to keep these stories alive in order to keep the player relevant. But as someone who has negotiated hundreds of contracts, my reaction has always been consistent: Take the emotion out of it, and let the other side scramble for headlines. When time becomes of the essence, people will be held accountable for their decisions and actions.

It’s obvious that fans feel the frustration and urgency, but I’m here to say that same feeling is not felt by the club. A well-run team is run like a business, and most teams have a larger, longer-term plan that goes beyond making a single player happy.

In the Seahawks' case, I think they are handling the situations just right, if one can believe what’s being reported and a well-placed source or two. I think Seattle is being more than fair with Adams, and I don’t think many teams would value him like the Seahawks do.

Obviously, the Seahawks paid a ransom to the Jets to get Adams, and that shows in their offer to make him the highest-paid safety in the league, despite his deficiencies as a player. 

I truly believe that if the easygoing, soon-to-be-70-year-old Pete Carroll were not the coach and final decision-maker in the Seahawks' hierarchy, the team would play hardball with Adams and allow him to play 2021 under his tender (the fifth and final year of his rookie deal). Seattle then could use the franchise tag on him for one or two additional years.  

Carroll, however, is always going to choose to keep the peace and the relationship with his player. Patriots coach Bill Belichick might make a different choice.

It sounds like the Seahawks are finished negotiating and have made their final offer. Leaking this information publicly let everyone know that they are serious. And their offer is way more than fair. Frankly, if Adams wants to be paid more than potential Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner (who makes $18 million per year), shame on him. It’s not going to happen.

Now, there will be posturing by the player's camp and maybe a small sweetener thrown in at the end, but eventually, Adams will make the wise choice to accept the deal. Mark my words, his salary will be a target for the new coach down the road … whenever that is. 

The Seahawks' second contract dispute is even stickier and could get ugly. The sense is that Seattle is not willing to acquiesce to the demands of a 36-year-old left tackle entering his 14th season. For good reason: You can count on one hand the number of 37-year-old tackles playing in the NFL. 

Brown’s cap charge of $13.2 million includes $2 million-plus in signing-bonus proration, with $11 million more due this year ($10 million in base salary and $1 million tied to active roster bonus). Brown's issue is as much about timing as anything else. There won’t be much of a long-term market for a 37-year-old tackle after this season, and he knows the Seahawks have no options behind him. 

The Seahawks have not spent a high draft pick on a front-line tackle since 2010, when they selected Russell Okung. That’s either bad planning or bad evaluating. At any rate, it’s questionable team-building given the price and value of good tackles in today’s market. Brown knows this. He also knows that $20 million a year is the new magic number.

Brown is not what he used to be. He is an average run-blocker who is still strong with his hands, but his lateral range is questionable at this stage.

The precedent of allowing him to demand a new deal by withholding services while in camp is a tricky dynamic. If I were GM John Schneider, I wouldn’t even talk until Brown started practicing, and even then, I would do so only with the understanding that the team is not paying a premium. The deal has to make sense for both sides, if this can of worms is even to be opened.

One complication might be Brown’s health. He had knee surgery in 2019, and his practice time needs to be managed. That knee is only going to get worse. I expect a good game of hardball is coming.

Throw in one other angle: Quarterback Russell Wilson is trying to reposition his legacy after it took a hit in the offseason. The Pro Bowl QB volunteered to renegotiate his deal to create cap room for Brown. That was comical to me.

A renegotiation of Wilson’s deal would only empower him more and make it more difficult to move him if Seattle so desired next year. I think the Seahawks are wiser than most teams and will instead be willing to wait out these moves. 

"Holding in" provides a test of a player's character. Teams will be watching the attitude and attention to detail they get from players who are around every day, even though they might not be practicing. 

In the past, a holdout was not only absent; he was also incommunicado. When a player was away from the team and isolated while his teammates were in camp working, it almost helped in negotiations because the isolation left the player somewhat in limbo. He had to work on his own and was definitely not part of the team.

This new way of withholding services has players around their teammates and coaches. They see how their replacements are doing and how the team is responding every day. It's a different dynamic altogether.

And teams are handling it differently, too. 

In Pittsburgh, the Steelers are negotiating a long-term deal with star pass-rusher TJ Watt. He is participating in most work but not team drills. (The sense is that team drills and 11-on-11 bring some injury risk.) I agree with this formula. You have to have trust and respect flowing both ways if a player is going to be in-house while negotiations are ongoing.

All in all, there is no panic. It’s just the new ways of the NFL, and they carry their own set of circumstances for front offices. A player "holding in" can create a temporary bump in the road, but the clubs still have leverage.

Some teams might just be willing to use it more than others.

Randy Mueller is the former general manager for the Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins. He spent more than 30 years working in NFL front offices as a talent evaluator. Follow him on Twitter or at muellerfootball.com.