If the Jets front office has their way, Jamal Adams will be on the squad for his entire career. Following reports last week that the safety is unhappy with his contract, general manager Joe Douglas made it clear to ESPN that Adams likely won’t be going anywhere.
It seems funny that Douglas would even have to come out and say this about his best player. However, this saga has been bubbling for months. Back at the trade deadline, there were rumblings that the Cowboys were close to acquiring the former first-rounder. When those talks fell apart, Adams bemoaned the fact that he was included in trade discussions to begin with.
Things calmed down a bit after that, and the 24-year-old ended up earning a first-team All-Pro nod after finishing the 2019 season with 75 tackles, 6.5 sacks, seven passes defended, one interception, and two forced fumbles. Thanks to his growing list of accolades (Adams also has a pair of Pro Bowl appearances and second-team All-Pro recognition), the safety made it clear earlier this offseason that he wanted a new contract.
This wasn’t a very surprising revelation; after all, Adams is set to earn only $3.6M in 2020. While he’ll be playing the 2021 season on the lucrative fifth-year option, it makes sense for Adams to command a long-term commitment from the organization. According to ESPN, there have been whispers that Adams doesn’t only want to be the highest-paid safety in the NFL, but he also wants to be the highest-paid player on the Jets (an honor that’s currently held by linebacker C.J. Mosley, who’s making $17M per year).
In pursuit of that new contract, we learned last week that Adams was going to skip the Jets’ virtual voluntary offseason program.
Douglas revealed that the front office will focus their attention on a potential extension once the draft has concluded. Of course, the organization isn’t in any rush to extend their star player; if the two sides can’t agree to an extension, the Jets could always go the extension-tag route by the time 2022 comes around.
Curiously, Douglas still hasn’t entirely committed to Adams. While the GM indicated that he’d like the safety to stick with the Jets for the foreseeable future, he didn’t do much to silence the trade talks.
“The plan would be for Jamal to be here long term,” Douglas said during a pre-draft conference call with reporters. “Again, I’ve also made it known I have to do what’s in the best interest of the team. If other teams call to talk about players, I’ll listen.
“Going into this draft, my intent isn’t to move any players. But if a team calls, we’re going to have conversations. I don’t view it as hedging. I view it as doing my job.”
With the Jets looking to secure their first AFC East title since 2002, the front office will surely want this story behind them by the time the regular season starts up. If they don’t, a disgruntled star could have a major vicarious impact on the Jets’ current 6.5 over/under.
