Should the Ravens trade for Jets S Jamal Adams?

With Jamal Adams fighting with the New York Jets over his contract, the Baltimore Ravens could swoop in for a trade. But should they?

The Baltimore Ravens had an interest in New York Jets safety Jamal Adams before, but could they make another play at the All-Pro safety once again? More importantly, should the Ravens pull off what would surely be a costly trade for Adams?

The topic comes up once again as Adams and the Jets continue their rocky relationship in public. Adams has been very vocal in wanting more commitment from New York in the form of a contract extension. However, it seems the Jets have been proceeding slower than Adams is comfortable with. With some contention between the pair, talk of a potential trade has again swirled around them.

This isn’t the first time Baltimore has been mentioned as a potential trade partner for Adams. At last season’s trade deadline, the Ravens showed interest in Adams but weren’t able to pull off a deal. Though Baltimore has Earl Thomas on the roster and it just gave a contract extension to Chuck Clark, Adams would be a sure fit in the Ravens’ defensive scheme. With Adams once again the topic of trade talk, Baltimore is a team many immediately looked at as a potential destination. Former Ravens safety Tony Jefferson added fuel to the speculation on Instagram Live, where he told Adams that he’d be a great fit in Baltimore.

If trade cost and salary cap ramifications weren’t an issue, a trade for Adams makes sense for Baltimore. Adams is one of the best safeties in the league and as a versatile player, he fits the Ravens’ defensive scheme well. Baltimore is also in the middle of a Super Bowl window with a lot of cap space available next season, checking all the boxes most players want out of a new landing spot. But alas, the NFL doesn’t quite work that way and trading for Adams would be expensive for the Ravens.

The first question is how much the Jets would want in return for Adams. An elite player like Adams isn’t going to come cheap and New York wouldn’t be out of line asking for a first- and mid-round pick in exchange for their starting safety. Even if Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta was ready to pull the trigger on that deal, it’s not the only consideration.

The Ravens would still need to hand Adams the contract extension he’s been trying to get from the Jets. If Adams wants to become the highest-paid safety in the NFL, an extension would cost Baltimore around $15 million per season on average. The Ravens certainly don’t have that type of cash lying around in 2020, with just $9.04 million available right now per Over The Cap. But even if they could work out a deal that would fit within their cap this season, the deal would likely balloon pretty quickly over the next few years. Would the Ravens really be able to afford another highly-paid defensive player at a time they’re hoping to reach deals on long-term extensions with left tackle Ronnie Stanley and cornerback Marlon Humphrey, with quarterback Lamar Jackson’s likely record-breaking contract on the horizon as well?

Furthermore, we need to question if Baltimore even needs Adams. Though Adams is a better player than Clark, and Thomas is near the end of his career, the Ravens simply don’t have the type of need at safety to warrant spending that type of money and draft capital on a trade. Barring Baltimore cutting or trading Thomas along with bringing in Adams, it’s difficult to see how they’d get all three the number of snaps to warrant their cap hits.

Bringing in Adams would surely boost the Ravens’ defense, there’s no real question about that. When they initially showed interest last season, Baltimore had just lost Jefferson for the season due to injury and had yet to extend Clark. At that time, the trade would have made far more sense from the Ravens’ standpoint. But now, the salary cap space would be far better spent on signing their own players to long-term deals, and the draft capital could be better used in a trade for another pass rusher.

If Adams is destined to join the Ravens, it probably isn’t going to happen this season. The clearest path towards Adams wearing purple and black would be after the 2020 season when Baltimore could cut Thomas, freeing up $6 million according to Over The Cap, while opening up a roster spot for him. Unless the Jets are willing to let the Ravens practically steal Adams from them and the safety is willing to sign a relatively cheap contract, Baltimore seemingly closed the door on this deal months ago when they locked up Clark to a three-year contract extension.

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