In November 2019, Jamal Adams spoke to reporters at a post-practice press conference. The NFL trade deadline had passed several weeks before, and Adams’ name was the subject of speculation.
The press conference provided Adams with an opportunity to respond to Jets owner Christopher Johnson’s statement that “[He] would love to have Jamal on this team for the rest of his career.”
What did Adams say?
“S–t, I wanna be a Jet for life too.”
Flash-forward to Thursday, when NFL insider Gary Myers said that the “Jets have given no indication to sign All-Pro S Jamal Adams to new contract in [2020] offseason.”
Myers also wrote, “[Adams] wants [a] contract now. Stalemate has caused friction…”
Now, let me remind you that Adams is entering the fourth year of his rookie deal. The Jets have control of Adams until 2021 after exercising the club option on Adams’ contract. Adams is set to make $3.5 million in 2020.
If you want to be a “Jet for Life,” shouldn’t you be patient and wait for a deal to get done? I mean, you’re playing a season, with the Jets, which is a major part of the title “Jet for Life.”
Joe Douglas has reiterated time and time again that he wants to bring back Adams. While he has listened to offers, he’s done just that – merely pick up the phone and listen.
Adams is a generational talent who makes his presence known on the field. He’s a moneymaker, too – he sold the 36th-most jerseys during the 2019 NFL season.
Adams skipped voluntary virtual minicamp earlier this year. There may be a possible holdout brewing, which would damage Adams exponentially. For one, he loses fan support. When a star doesn’t play, no one wins. Two, it will cost him money. We saw this with LeVeon Bell in Pittsburgh – he lost $852,000 per week as a result of his holdout.
If Adams holds out, he risks his replacement in Ashtyn Davis, who the Jets selected in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft, being a massive success. If Davis proves to be a significant replacement for Adams, the Jets lose the desire for dealing out big money and are able to deal Adams for draft capital.
Adams is ultimately going to end up making one of three decisions – One, being patient and tabling negotiations with the Jets until 2021, thus playing the season with the Jets, or two, holding out and risking a trade within the near future.
With the way Adams has acted on Twitter, sending cryptic messages, as well as rumors leaking out that he does not in fact want to be a “Jet for life,” my bet is that option two is the most likely option.
Oh, and don’t forget that Adams is from Dallas – the Cowboys have repeatedly reached out to the Jets with inquiries about the star. Myers closes his tweet with, “[An Adams] trade [is] very possible. It’s expected half the teams will call Jets.”
Half of the NFL will make offers for Jamal Adams. Jets fans should hope Ashtyn Davis is a good draft pick.
