Tag: Jets culture

2020 NFL Draft: Jets loaded up on former college captains

Joe Douglas has put an emphasis on drafting leaders as he’s drafted four former college captains in his first draft as Jets general manager.

[jwplayer 3P0HZzio-ThvAeFxT]

Jets general manager Joe Douglas doesn’t just want good football players. He wants leaders.

That may sound cliche, but Douglas made the notion a point of emphasis in his first draft as Jets general manager by drafting five former college captains in a row. That includes Florida running back La’Mical Perine, Florida International quarterback James Morgan, Charlotte offensive tackle Cameron Clark, Virginia cornerback Bryce Hall and Texas A&M punter Braden Mann.

Morgan was voted the Pat Tillman Award winner for his leadership skills at the Shrine Bowl practices. Clark, meanwhile, was the Offensive Team MVP in 2017 at Charlotte.

“I feel like we added a lot of quality football players and quality people,” Douglas told reporters after the draft. “We feel good about where we are right now.”

Douglas said before the draft that he wants to build a good culture with the Jets. That starts with bringing in not only talented football players, but good human beings. Douglas wants to have players who hold each other accountable for their mistakes both on and off the field.

It’s not something all general managers consider when drafting a player or signing a free agent. However, it’s an important aspect to building a successful football team.

It’s definitely something different for the Jets, but it’s a good path to be on for a team that is trying to establish a new identity in the NFL.

Jamal Adams to skip voluntary virtual offseason program

Jets safety Jamal Adams is not expected to participate in the NFL’s voluntary virtual offseason program.

The Jamal Adams drama that was put to bed during the regular season has awoken right before the 2020 NFL Draft.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Adams is not expected to participate in the NFL’s voluntary virtual offseason program next month. Schefter noted that the Jets haven’t expressed any official interest in extending Adams this offseason. ESPN’s Rich Cimini went on to say that the Jets and Adams had very preliminary talks before the NFL Combine in February. After that, however, general manager Joe Douglas said that the draft was a priority before extending Adams.

This latest news has opened up the possibility for Adams to be traded on draft night. The Jets have multiple holes on their roster and trading Adams would bring them back a ton of extra draft picks.

Douglas was taking calls on Adams right before the trade deadline last season, but he made the price too steep for any team to acquire him. That led to a feud between Douglas and Adams, but that was resolved a couple of weeks later.

At the combine, Douglas made it known that he wants Adams to be a “Jet for life.” However, as we’ve seen with free agency, Douglas is very conservative when it comes to how he hands out money. He sets a certain value on a player and doesn’t go past that number.

Adams, meanwhile, is looking to be one of, if not the, highest-paid safeties in the league. He’s been a Pro Bowler twice and was First-Team All-Pro this past season. He’s been a vocal leader for the Jets since his first day as a rookie. Douglas has said he wants to build a good culture with the Jets and Adams was trying to do the same before the general manager arrived.

The Jets have an interesting decision on their hands. They don’t have to give Adams his extension or trade him right now. They still have his fifth-year option for 2021 and they could always franchise tag him after that.

That scenario, however, could lead to Adams holding out from a lot more than just a virtual offseason program.

Colin Kaepernick plans to reach out to Jets following fake report

Colin Kaepernick is going to reach out to the Jets looking for a deal.

The NFL world received a bit of shocking news on Thursday when a report claimed Colin Kaepernick and the Jets had agreed to a deal. The only problem was that the report was false.

A fake SportsCenter account, citing ESPN’s Adam Schefter, tweeted that Kaepernick had signed a one-year deal with the Jets worth $9 million. Of course, it didn’t take long for people to realize that the account was not the verified SportsCenter account, nor had Schefter reported any such thing.

Usually, the story would stop there, but it turns out Kaepernick is trying to capitalize on the buzz the false report created. According to TMZ Sports, the quarterback plans on reaching out to the Jets, along with some other teams.

The Jets have yet to show any interest in Kaepernick this offseason. If Kaepernick did sign with the Jets, he would compete with David False to be the backup quarterback behind Sam Darnold.

Kaepernick, 32, hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2016 when he was with the 49ers. His protests of racial and social injustice during the national anthem put his NFL career on pause the last three years with no guarantee of resuming. He did have a workout last November, but no deal materialized.

In six seasons with San Francisco, Kapernick has a 59.8 percent completion percentage, 12,271 passing yards, 72 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. As a rusher, Kaepernick has totaled 2,300 yards and 13 touchdowns.