Jets safety Jamal Adams has been in the news a great deal this offseason as he pushes for a new contract, and he made another splash yesterday when he requested a trade. As Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv writes, the Jets’ stance on the issue has not changed, and the team has no intention of trading him or allowing him to seek a trade on his own. New York still wants to keep him long-term and pay him as a top-of-the-market safety, but the team is hoping for a little patience from him in light of the uncertainty created by the pandemic.
After all, Adams remains under club control for two more seasons and can be hit with the franchise tag after that, and teams are generally loathe to extend a player with that much time remaining on his existing deal. While Adams continues — with reason — to point to the Panthers’ recent extension for Christian McCaffrey as justification for his demands, the C-MAC deal is an exception to the rule. After all, players like Jalen Ramsey, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, and Cameron Heyward are still waiting for their new deals, and it’s clear that potential salary cap cuts and other fiscal concerns are the primary reason for those delays. And as Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes, GM Joe Douglas is under cash-flow restrictions imposed by ownership, which helps explain why the team is reluctant to do an Adams deal now (and perhaps why Douglas stayed out of the deep end of the FA pool, though his restraint in that regard has generally been lauded given the team’s recent history with splashy signings).
Adding to the Jets’ frustrations with Adams is the fact that, if he is traded to certain teams, he would not demand a contract extension. And further compounding the problem is that Adams may not be content to be the league’s highest-paid safety, which would give him an AAV of roughly $15MM. Instead, a source who has looked into acquiring Adams tells Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com that Adams is actually seeking a contract that would put him among the highest-compensated defensive players at any position, which would mean an AAV in excess of $20MM (Twitter link). Given his youth and skill level, it’s not surprising to see Adams shoot for that goal, but it would be surprising to see him achieve it.
As for a couple of the teams on Adams’ list of preferred destinations? Field Yates of ESPN.com believes the Cowboys remain the best fit (Twitter link), but regardless of fit, the draft capital it would take to land the First Team All-Pro — not to mention the eventual extension — is a huge obstacle to clear. Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com does not believe the 49ers will swing a deal given the club’s preference to keep as many draft picks as possible going forward, a desire underscored by the number of players on the current roster that are under or will soon be under premium contracts (Twitter links).
Similarly, although Zach Berman of The Athletic thinks the general concern over the Eagles‘ 2021 cap situation is overblown, he does not see the team parting with a first-round pick and ponying up a big-money deal at some point in the next year for a DB. If Philadelphia were to make that type of move, Berman believes it would be for a pass rusher like Jacksonville’s Yannick Ngakoue.
Lol.. great player.. but 20mil + for a safety… that’s hopeful.
These guys and their desire to both be paid elite salaries and be traded to a winner is getting a little old. If he really wants 20 million a year he should be trying to make himself worth that to the Jets. Seems like I haven’t seen a player in the last 20 years try and be a part of building a winning team, just want to be shipped to one as they get paid
Take your job for instance, if you knew your worth and your company wasn’t willing to give you a raise, would you want to search for opportunities elsewhere knowing other places would be willing to pay you?
Most of us would say yes.
Adams is young and elite. Good for him for wanting to get paid and if the jets don’t want to be the ones to pay him, then let someone else do it.
I will use my job. I’m a teacher. I don’t sigh and apply to the best private schools every year because sometimes the kids at my school are difficult. I show up everyday and try to do my best for them and my community. And I don’t make 10 million a year. I understand market forces, I teach econ. It doesn’t mean the lack of competitive desire in modern athletes isn’t dissappointing.
…and I’d bet that any teacher DEMANDING a raise with two years left on his contract would be laughed out of the building. Especially if that teacher was asking for a contract paying 35% more than any other teacher on the face of the earth.
Jamal Adams is an arrogant, irrational jerkoff…the defensive version of Antonio Brown. Just has to have his name in the news at all times and it’s all ME! ME! ME! I wouldn’t touch this guy with a 10 foot pole if I were a NFL GM.
Exactly
Not apples to apples in same orchard . Teachers passion for educating youth over pay is without question commendable but many athletes don’t teach/play for love of game they want All the $$$ and rings they can get . Society loves teachers and all they do but sports and Hollywood in own little world . Days of Magic and Bird retiring Before going to other team are sadly gone
I can name a few instances of players being overly loyal to teams to “be apart of building a winner”.
1. OT Joe Thomas – numerous 1st Team All Pro, Pro Bowls potentially future first ballot HOFer wasted his entire career never reaching the playoffs with the Browns
2. WR Andre Johnson – spent most of career on bad Houston Texan teams with average to subpar QB play.
3. WR Larry Fitzgerald has stayed loyal to Cardinals had that one miracle playoff run to Super Bowl and 4 or 5 seasons with winning records.
4. DL Jurrell Casey spent his entire career on horrible Titans teams, numerous Pro Bowls, they have their breakout year defeat Pats and Ravens and ship him off.
5. K. Sebastian Janikowski 18 years on a lot of bad raider teams.
Teams can cut bait whenever they feel like it, take on dead money etc, what’s wrong with players wanting to move on to better organizations.
Look at how the Lions never put any help around rare talents like Barry Sanders or Calvin Johnson both choosing to retire rather than force a move. Or the Bengals known as a cheap organization, doesn’t pay for scouting department like other teams, notoriously cheap in free agency as well.
What’s wrong with it? It’s called a contract. He can move on to other teams when he’s a free agent. What is it with the world these days that people don’t understand the idea of sticking to a commitment?
Because the Jets are a terribly run organization. If we know that as fans, what do you think he’s aware of? I would want out of there too. They’re never going anywhere because of their ownership.
Just another good example of when is a contract really a contract….he’s under club control for the next 2 years, and while he’s not making the ridiculous money he’s asking for, he’s far from a poor man….maybe he should try working a real job for awhile and use that as a comparison?
When are these overpaid and spoiled athletes going to realize that that team sports is not a democracy where everyone shares equally…..the Jets should just let him sit for a year if he doesn’t want to play for what he’s currently making.
20 mil a year??? Not one player in the NFL is worth that kind of money. None.
Pat Mahomes?
The best QBs and D lineman are. What a clown comment.
Add offensive tackle to that list. An offense is useless without proper protection unless your QB is Russell Wilson. Even then, you’d be forced to play top dollar for said elite passer
While QB’s and few other positions may be, no safety is worth $20 million. Certainly no safety is worth 35% more than any other safety has been paid in the history of the game. Who does this clown think he is?
I agree. I’m refuting the op’s statement asserting nobody was worth that financial commitment. Unless you have a Polamalu-Ed Reed hybrid, no defensive-back is worthy of greater than $15 million/season
$50mil over the cap.Possibility that the cap actually decreases.Not exactly sure what Zach Berman see’s that I don’t.Maybe he has some insight that Kelce and Graham will retire after the season.Rollover and subtracting Graham would be about 42m or so,and then subtracting Jeffery,Desean,and Goodwin,could get them to decent place.But ofcourse that’s a perfect world scenario,in a cap sense only though,because removing Kelce or Graham would also leave pretty significant holes as well.Beyound those 5 players,you gotta start talking about players like Barnett,Ertz and Cox for savings,and again you’re talking about opening some pretty significant holes in key areas.And adding anyone in significance now cuts into that rollover money.
I can see pushing the chips in to try to make a run this year,but it’s just as likely year one of transitioning the roster as well.Next year we’re gonna be looking at atleast a couple significant changes to the roster.Still think they might need to let Jeffery go this year,to get as much of that dead money attached to this year’s cap as they can.As a post June 1 cut,the cap hit and dead money is close enough to not significantly affect the rollover much.
Right!? That’s ridiculous.
There goes his leverage. Jets aren’t getting a 1st, 2nd, a player, and 20+ from his new team. I don’t think they were getting that when he was at 16
Cowboys offered a 1, 3, and Anthony Brown last year
I know the Cowboys are desperate to get him. Would they trade CeeDee Lamb for Adams?
Not a chance. Lamb is inexpensive and his absence would leave a huge hole considering they have no good WRs after their top 3. Plus, they still have to give Dak a contract.
Cowboys should try Cooper for Adams.
Yea sure give him 20mil and have him do the same thing Revis did when the Jets paid him, he didn’t play hard after that. Screw that trade him!
I’m seeking $20m per year too.
I’d rather see you get it than Adams!
Good luck with that….
He’s a great player and perhaps the best safety in the NFL, but no safety is worth $20 million per year, nor is any quarterback worth $40 million per year.
Abrams + Clowney + Dalton > Dak 35-40mil.
I assume you mean Adams? Nothing against Dak by any means, but that combo would be better than any one player. Dalton is good enough to lead the team adequately, Clowney is disruptive enough to add defensive pressure, and Adams is a solid tackler with good range-to-size combination. This is why players who demand enormous amounts of money just aren’t worth it-the team can get multiple contributors at multiple positions for that price.
Certainly would be interesting to see how that played out. I’m in the camp that thinks Dak looks like a beast against the bad teams, is decent against the decent teams, and isn’t worth anywhere close to a mega contract based on how he plays against the great teams. Great offensive line. One of the best RB’s in the game. Good WR’s. And he still can’t get the team over the hump.
I like Prescott but I see your point. He’s not there yet but he has shown exponential growth every year that he’s played since his junior year at Mississippi State. Those types of players usually end up being the keepers. Some guys who were very talented couldn’t improve (Matt Leinart comes to mind) and washed out.
Besides, Dan Mullen’s offense does not tend to translate well to the NFL, so the fact that Dak has improved enough to lead the league in offense is impressive. He started a bit behind the headliners in terms of his skill set, but he’s improved every year in individual aspects of his play-his timing, accuracy, and reading defenses are much better than when he started. So I’ll give him a chance as a player personally-though, I should note, I am not a Cowboys fan.
All that said, his asking price is a bit high in my opinion, but I’ve always been of the opinion that less money=more rings, generally speaking. Prescott has some accomplishments, but not to that degree.
OMG. You cannot live on 10 million a year? Go to heck in a hand basket. No wait I have to watch out for my family. All pro athletes make those of us who can barely survive sick. Drop dead and die
Idiot