Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider recently admitted that San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle was among the reasons why the division rivals gave up a haul to acquire safety Jamal Adams.
"But you have to have so much speed on the back, especially when we're playing against Kyler Murray and George Kittle and Robert Woods and all these guys that seem like they are just running all over the place," Schneider told Peter King of NBC Sports. "You've got to have as much speed on the field. So adding a guy like Jamal who has that versatility to play down in the box and play in the hole and play man coverage is really important to us."
The Seahawks hope they closed the gap a bit between themselves and the defending NFC champions. Kittle is just excited about going against one of the best defenders in the game. He was asked about the trade and how much film of Adams he's reviewed.
"When he was on the Jets, we were going to play them this year, so I definitely watched Jamal Adams," Kittle responded. "He's a hell of a player, so I'm just excited. Like, the NFC West, that's some competition out there from the Cardinals to the Rams, and now the Seahawks and us. It's going to be a really fun [division] to play in. Jamal Adams is just going to make it a lot more fun for us."
The 49ers and Seahawks split their series last season, with each team winning on the road. Kittle didn't get to play in the first matchup at Levi's Stadium, which San Francisco lost 27-24 in overtime. He had seven receptions on seven targets for 86 yards in the Week 17 matchup that saw the 49ers win 26-21 and take the division crown.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Kittle below. It begins at about the 22-minute mark.