No surprise here, but the Jets are exercising Jamal Adams’ fifth-year option.
The decision, first reported by the Daily News’ Manish Mehta, was made ahead of next Monday’s deadline. The option would pay Adams $9.86 million in 2021, the final year of his rookie deal. That sum is based on the transition tag for safeties in 2020. In accordance with the league’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the option will become fully guaranteed on the first day of the 2021 league year. In the meantime, it will be guaranteed for injury once the Jets make it official.
Of course, there’s a good chance Adams is making a lot more money by then. He and the Jets are expected to reengage in extension talks now that Joe Douglas is done with the draft, and the All-Pro safety has made it no secret that he wishes to be among the highest-paid players at his position.
“My stance on Jamal hasn’t changed,” Douglas said after the draft, hammering home previous comments in which he said he hopes to make Adams a Jet for life. “At some point, we’re going to get together with him and his representatives.”
“This is voluntary,” Adam Gase emphasized Monday when asked about Adams’ absence. “That’s just what it is. It’s one of those things where guys have a choice. If they want to be here, they can. If they don’t, it’s just what it is. That’s the CBA rules and there’s nothing that we can really do about that.”