The public feud between the New York Jets and safety Jamal Adams just won’t seem to go away. After seeing Adams’ name pop up in trade talks dating back to last year’s trade deadline, the All-Pro safety is apparently still available for the right price.
In an interview with Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News, Adams said Jets general manager Joe Douglas has “conveyed his willingness” to trading him this offseason. Mehta notes New York hasn’t given Adams’ agent permission to discuss a trade with teams yet though. However, Adams already laid out where he’d be interested in landing, with the Baltimore Ravens one of a handful of teams on his shortlist after the team had shown interest in him at last year’s trade deadline.
Adams is undeniably one of the best young defensive backs in the NFL right now. In just three seasons with New York, Adams has two interceptions with one returned for a touchdown, four fumble recoveries with one returned for a touchdown, 273 combined tackles, 28 tackles for a loss, 12 sacks, and 23 quarterback hits. In just the last two seasons, Adams has allowed passer ratings of 74.7 (2018) and 75.2 (2019) when targeted by opposing quarterbacks. Adams would make almost every team in the league better if he was on their roster, and the Ravens are certainly no exception.
Adams told Mehta he wants to “be with an organization that wants to win and do things the right way.” There’s little doubt Baltimore would hit on both of those marks after receiving rave reviews from former safety Eric Weddle. Unfortunately, the Ravens simply aren’t in a good spot to make a real run at Adams right now.
With roughly $7.5 million in available cap space right now, according to Over The Cap, Baltimore isn’t exactly flush with money to make blockbuster trades. At least not trade for Adams and give him the contract extension he’s been trying to get from the Jets. Furthermore, the Ravens already have their starting safeties after signing Chuck Clark to a contract extension this offseason and signing Earl Thomas as a free agent last year. Though Adams would be a huge addition for Baltimore, it’s hard to envision the Ravens realistically making a play for him right now. But if Adams is willing to wait a bit, things become a little more interesting.
Thomas is a potential cap casualty next year and would free up $6 million if cut after this season. That would be on top of the $63.48 million in cap space the Ravens are currently expected to have in 2021, according to OTC. That could be enough for Baltimore to make serious inquiries for Adams if New York is truly open to trading their star defender. Then again, if the Jets are willing to move him this offseason and can find a suitable trade partner, the timing might not work out in the Ravens’ favor.
With Baltimore already showing interest previously and Adams returning their wandering eye, it’s easy to get excited about what could happen.
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