The Jamal Adams drama that was put to bed during the regular season has awoken right before the 2020 NFL Draft.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Adams is not expected to participate in the NFL’s voluntary virtual offseason program next month. Schefter noted that the Jets haven’t expressed any official interest in extending Adams this offseason. ESPN’s Rich Cimini went on to say that the Jets and Adams had very preliminary talks before the NFL Combine in February. After that, however, general manager Joe Douglas said that the draft was a priority before extending Adams.
This latest news has opened up the possibility for Adams to be traded on draft night. The Jets have multiple holes on their roster and trading Adams would bring them back a ton of extra draft picks.
Douglas was taking calls on Adams right before the trade deadline last season, but he made the price too steep for any team to acquire him. That led to a feud between Douglas and Adams, but that was resolved a couple of weeks later.
At the combine, Douglas made it known that he wants Adams to be a “Jet for life.” However, as we’ve seen with free agency, Douglas is very conservative when it comes to how he hands out money. He sets a certain value on a player and doesn’t go past that number.
Adams, meanwhile, is looking to be one of, if not the, highest-paid safeties in the league. He’s been a Pro Bowler twice and was First-Team All-Pro this past season. He’s been a vocal leader for the Jets since his first day as a rookie. Douglas has said he wants to build a good culture with the Jets and Adams was trying to do the same before the general manager arrived.
The Jets have an interesting decision on their hands. They don’t have to give Adams his extension or trade him right now. They still have his fifth-year option for 2021 and they could always franchise tag him after that.
That scenario, however, could lead to Adams holding out from a lot more than just a virtual offseason program.