Despite being all in favor of the Jamal Adams trade to Seattle, Mike Tannenbaum believes Jets players now have a map for leaving the team.
Tannenbaum, a former Jets general manager, was on ESPN’s Get Up Monday and shared his thoughts on the trade that netted the Jets two first-round picks, a third-round pick and a starting safety in Bradley McDougald. Tannenbaum thought what Joe Douglas got in return for Adams was impressive. However, based on Tannenbaum’s experience with Darrelle Revis — which is eerily similar story to the Adams saga — the former exec thinks that this move opened the door for any player to leave the Jets if they want to.
“I’ve sat in that seat and I dealt with the exact situation with Darrelle Revis where he was mad at me. His agents were mad at me. He wanted a new contract,” Tannenbaum said. “He was a great player and we hung in there. I wouldn’t trade him and we figured out a solution.
“While I think the Jets and Joe Douglas did a good job over the weekend… there’s a blueprint to get out.“
We discussed the Jamal Adams trade on @Getupespn today with @espngreeny and @ByKimberleyA. pic.twitter.com/9jzkLYXH42
— Mike Tannenbaum (@RealTannenbaum) July 27, 2020
Douglas, however, refuted that idea Monday when he spoke to reporters. The current Jets GM doesn’t believe Adams set any kind of precedent for players to “shoot their way out of town.” Rather, he insisted that the Jets planned on keeping Adams until the Seahawks called with an overwhelming offer.
The Jets had little incentive to trade Adams to another team unless they got an offer they couldn’t ignore. Adams was under team control for at least two more seasons and the new CBA makes it harder for players to hold out. So even if Adams attempted a holdout, he would’ve been fined a boatload of money.
As for Jets players forcing their way out, what Tannenbaum said shouldn’t be the case — especially with a guy like Douglas. No player is untradeable in his mind. If a team calls about a player, he’ll answer the phone and listen. From there, he’ll do what’s best for the organization.
So just because Adams got his wish and left the Jets, it doesn’t mean any other player can leave whenever they want. At the end of the day, Douglas has to do what it takes to improve the Jets and, in this situation, it just so happened to be dealing away their best player.