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Get to know new Jets safety Sharrod Neasman.
The Jets added to their safety depth Thursday afternoon, plucking veteran Sharrod Neasman out of free agency.
Neasman brings some much-needed experience to a Jets safety room that features two second-year players beyond starters Lamarcus Joyner and Marcus Maye. Neasman also has a bit of familiarity with New York’s defensive scheme, making him a relatively intriguing addition ahead of training camp.
Let’s get to know more about the Jets’ newest defensive back.
Bradley McDougald’s shoulder injury will keep him out for the rest of year and will likely end his tenure as a Jet.
Bradley McDougald’s Jets tenure is likely over.
Adam Gase said Wednesday that he doesn’t expect the safety to come back from a shoulder injury “any time soon,” per the New York Post’s Brian Costello. McDougald is eligible to come off the injured reserve list, but he doesn’t appear ready. With only fives games left in the season and the Jets out of the playoff hunt, there’s no reason to rush McDougald back.
With McDougald set to become a free agent at the end of the year, his time as a Jet appears over after just seven games. McDougald recorded 36 total tackles, three pass defenses and one fumble recovery. McDougald had a 41.0 overall grade, per Pro Football Focus. That is considered replaceable on the PFF grading scale. McDougald was targeted 16 times and allowed 13 receptions.
McDougald was acquired in the trade that sent Jamal Adams to the Seattle Seahawks. He was expected to be a solid replacement for Adams, but it just didn’t work out that way. Once McDougald went out with the shoulder injury, it was hard to see him regaining his starting job with the Jets having high hopes for rookie Ashtyn Davis.
McDougald will hit the free agent market coming off the shoulder injury with hopes of finding a new team. It’s hard to envision the Jets bringing him back given their situation at safety.
Bradley McDougald has replaced star safeties during his time with the Seattle Seahawks.
Bradley McDougald isn’t afraid of stepping into the shoes of a star safety.
McDougald will take Jamal Adams’ spot at free safety after the trade that sent McDougald to the Jets and Adams to the Seahawks. However, McDougald has prior experience replacing star safeties.
In Seattle, McDougald had to fill in for both Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas — two former members of Seattle’s Legion of Boom. That certainly wasn’t an easy task given that both players were Pro Bowlers multiple times with the Seahawks.
McDougald has put together a solid NFL career, though. He’s entering his eighth year in the league after going undrafted out of Kansas in 2013. McDougald started at free safety in two of his four years in Tampa Bay before joining the Seahawks in 2017 as a backup.
In 2018, McDougald became the full-time starting strong safety and performed well. He had 76 total tackles, nine pass defenses, three interceptions, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in his first full year as a starter. McDougald followed it up with 68 total tackles, six pass defenses, two interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery last season. Overall, McDougald has 10 career interceptions.
While there is an obvious drop-off in talent between McDougald and Adams, the former is a dependable player who won’t be phased taking over for a fan-favorite star. That should be good news for McDougald as he adjusts to the pressure of playing in New York and replacing a player of Adams’ caliber.
Jamal Adams wants nothing but the best for Bradley McDougald after he was traded to the Jets.
Jamal Adams had some kind words for his replacement after being dealt to the Seahawks on Saturday.
Bradley McDougald was sent over to the Jets in addition to a 2021 first-round pick, a 2022 first-round pick and a 2021 third-round pick in exchange for Adams and a 2022 fourth-round pick. After McDougald shared his excitement over becoming a Jet, Adams made sure to congratulate him and let him know that he’ll enjoy his time in New York.
I wish you nothing but the best bro! Amazing city, you will love it! https://t.co/jrLWZlBtbi
— Jamal Adams (@Prez) July 25, 2020
McDougald should slide into Adams’ position right away. He’s a versatile safety who can play both strong and free. But with Marcus Maye locked in as the strong safety already, McDougald should see the majority of his snaps at free safety.
As for Adams, his time in New York ended bittersweetly. After becoming the face of the defense for the last three seasons, Adams wasn’t happy with the Jets anymore. On top of three straight losing seasons, Adams lost trust in Joe Douglas after contract talks crumbled this offseason. Adams claims Douglas never even sent him an offer. He also didn’t like playing for Adam Gase, who he said is not the right leader for the organization.
Both the Jets and Adams appear to be happy with the end result, though. The Jets got a major haul and a serviceable player in the trade with Seattle and Adams gets to play for a winning organization.
Jamal Adams wants to be the highest-paid player on the New York Jets.
Before Jamal Adams asked to be traded by the Jets, he was looking to be the team’s highest-paid player, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.
It was clear that he wanted to surpass Bears safety Eddie Jackson as the highest-paid safety in the league at $14.6 million per year. But it also appears he was looking to out-earn teammate C.J. Mosley, who makes $17 million annually.
Adams asked the Jets for a trade on Thursday. Per ESPN, he has a list of seven teams that he prefers to be dealt to. The list includes six playoff teams from last season and his hometown Dallas Cowboys.
However, the Jets have no intention of trading their star safety at this time. General manager Joe Douglas has publicly stated that he wants to make Adams a “Jet for life”. But with two years left on Adams’ rookie deal and the salary cap possibly plummeting next offseason, the Jets feel no rush to sign Adams right away.
It’s a tricky situation between the two sides. Adams has established himself as one of the best safeties in the league and deserves to be paid like one. The Jets, however, still have many holes on the roster and are better off not making a long-term financial commitment just yet. That’s why Douglas has been handing out short-term deals this offseason.
Eventually, Adams is going to be paid top dollar whether it’s from the Jets or some other team. But for right now, unless the Jets give in and decide to pay Adams or honor his trade request, he’s set to make $3.5 million in 2020.
Jamal Adams says he’s going to set the record for most sacks by a safety after recording 6.5 sacks in 2019.
Most defensive backs don’t spend their offseasons thinking about taking down quarterbacks, but Jamal Adams is ordinary defensive back.
The NFL record for the most sacks by a safety in a single season is eight, held by former Cardinal Adrian Wilson. He accomplished that feat in 2005. Adams, meanwhile, finished last season with 6.5 sacks, just two shy of setting a new record.
Adams posted on Twitter Wednesday that he’ll be back to set the record after sitting out two games in 2019 due to injury.
And I missed two games! I’ll be back to set the record. #Prez https://t.co/mQMltNIuvB
— Jamal Adams (@Prez) May 13, 2020
Adams caught an unlucky break toward the end of last season. In Week 13, he sprained his ankle against the Bengals and was compromised for the majority of that game. He was then forced to miss the next two games before returning for the final two games of the regular season.
Adams was on a roll before getting injured against the Bengals. He recorded his 6.5 sacks in the previous four games, including three against the Redskins and two against the Giants.
Even without breaking the sack record, Adams had a phenomenal year. He made his second consecutive Pro Bowl and was First-Team All-Pro for the first time in his career. In 14 games, Adams had 74 total tackles, seven pass defenses, one interception and two touchdowns to go along with his 6.5 sacks.
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.
The Jets and free agent safety Marqui Christian were unable to finalize a contract after agreeing on a one-year deal last week.
It was reported that the Jets agreed to a deal with free agent safety Marqui Christian last week, but it turns out that wasn’t the case.
A week later, the deal between Christian and the Jets has fallen through, according to the New York Post’s Brian Costello. The Jets ultimately decided to move on.
Last week, the Jets and Christian agreed to terms on a one-year, $2 million deal. However, the deal was never finalized and now it never will be.
Christian was projected to be the third safety on the Jets’ depth chart behind starters Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye. Christian has spent the last four seasons with the Rams after being drafted by the Cardinals in the fifth round in 2016 out of Midwestern State.
The 25-year-old has appeared in 55 games over his career, primarily on special teams. In 55 games, Christian has registered 61 total tackles and three pass breakups.
The Jets have re-signed safety Bennett Jackson.
The Jets -signed safety Bennett Jackson on Tuesday, according to The Athletic’s Connor Hughes.
Jackson only played in two games for the Jets in 2019 and recorded one tackle in Week 15 against the Ravens. He started the season with Baltimore before being cut at the end of August. The Jets claimed him off waivers before the start of the regular season, but he was cut and re-signed to the practice squad two weeks later.
In October, the Ravens re-signed Jackson to the active roster. By December, the Ravens moved on from him and the Jets picked him up again. New York decided not to give him an exclusive rights free agent tender this offseason, which made him a free agent.
Originally, Jackson was a sixth-round pick by the Giants in 2014 out of Notre Dame.
The Jets have released Blake Countess and saved $1.2 million in cap space.
The Jets saved a little money on Wednesday, releasing safety Blake Countess. In doing so, the team cleared $1.2 million in cap space, per OverTheCap.
Countess was signed by the Jets in October and was active for six games. However, he didn’t record any statistics in 2019.
Countess was a sixth-round pick by the Eagles in 2016 out of Auburn. He didn’t play any games with the Eagles, though, as he was cut before the start of the 2016 season. The Rams picked him up after that; he was in Los Angeles for three seasons.
As a Ram, Countess had 54 total tackles, three pass defenses, two interceptions and one sack in 37 total games. He made one more stop in Philadelphia before coming to the Jets in 2019.
