Oddsmakers like Jamal Adams to Dallas; Cowboys have ‘nothing yet’

If the Jets trade their disgruntled All-Pro safety, Dallas seems the most likely landing spot, but the Cowboys claim no interest… “yet.”

It had been almost three weeks since Jamal Adams rumblings were last heard around Cowboys Nation, so the latest news shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. The former first-round pick has formally requested permission to seek a trade from the Jets, and even revealed a shortlist– via a source- of the teams he’s hoping to hear from.

The Pro Bowler would reportedly welcome a trade to the Cowboys, a move that would finally consummate a flirtation that dates back to the middle of last season. Dallas came close to working a deal for the 24-year-old safety just before the trade deadline in late October, but deemed the Jets’ asking price too steep. For his part, Adams was said to be unhappy about being shopped around.

Now that Adams himself has thrown down the gauntlet to his New York employers, online oddsmakers think if the Jets do send Adams packing, Dallas is, in fact, the most likely destination.

Handicappers at SportsLine have revealed odds for where the former LSU Tiger in the final year of his rookie NFL contract will be playing in Week 1 of the 2020 season if– and that’s a key word in this exercise- he is traded by the Jets. The Cowboys lead the way.

Ryan Wooden at SportsLine points out, notably, that the Jets would “likely still be the favorites to retain his services despite the desire to play elsewhere. Adams might be able to hold out temporarily, but he’d be forgoing millions just as he’s coming into his prime to hold out of actual games, and the Jets have the contractual control to sit on him for years if they don’t receive an offer that tickles their fancy.”

But it’s not just professional oddsmakers who are reading the tea leaves. ESPN NFL insider Field Yates agrees that if the Jets and the sixth overall pick in the 2017 draft are indeed headed for a divorce, a return by Adams to his native Metroplex makes a lot of sense.

But even if Vegas likes the odds, even if ESPN confirms the logic, even if Adams wants to wear the star, even if Cowboys fans are already debating if the All-Pro would wear the No. 33 made famous by Tony Dorsett, and even if the Cowboys themselves want Jamal Adams… there’s still the not-so-small matter of compensation.

Back in October, the front office reportedly offered a first-round selection to obtain Adams.  The Cowboys, of course, went on to use that pick on explosive wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. What the Jets would be willing to take now is obviously unknown, but the hypothetical Let’s Make a Deal-style machinations that fans assume are happening in Jerry Jones’s office are reminiscent of early 2019, when the team engaged in a very public mutual courting of Earl Thomas.

As Slater highlights, the word “yet” does a ton of heavy lifting in this context, especially for Cowboys fans who still covet Adams. But it offers hope that the Jamal Adams episode might end differently than the Earl Thomas chapter did.

The oddsmakers, at least, seem to think it’s a good bet it may.

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