The Jets can lock up Jamal Adams as early as this summer and they should seriously consider it after his second consecutive three-sack game.
Remember the idea of trading Jamal Adams after the season? Scrap it. The Jets will and should pay Adams for what he is: the best safety in the NFL.
Adams proved to the Jets for the second-straight game how much of a game-changer he can be on defense. Adams followed up his two-sack, nine-tackle performance that included a fumble recovery touchdown in Week 10 with a three-sack outing against the Redskins on Sunday. He leads the Jets in almost every defensive statistic and looks like a reinvigorated man on a mission after trade rumors upset him after the deadline.Â
“I understand my worth. I know what I can bring to a team. And I’m so excited to be a part of this Jets organization,” Adams said after the game. “I’m the best doing it. That’s all that matters.”
Players of Adams’ caliber don’t come around often. When they do, teams generally try and keep them around for as long as possible. Though Adams appeared to be on his way out of New York after a tumultuous trade deadline week — he refused to talk to Adam Gase or Joe Douglas and made ambiguous statements about his future with the franchise — the safety knows he’s due for a big paycheck as early as this offseason. Every week he puts up games like his past two, his price only goes up – either on the trade block or in the negotiating room.
Douglas rightly asked for the moon when discussing trades for Adams at the deadline, and now it looks like two early-round picks might not even be enough to acquire Adams’ services. The safety is a game-wrecker and is on pace to break the NFL sack record for a defensive back set by Cardinals’ safety Adrian Wilson in 2011. Adams has a team-high six sacks through 10 games and only needs two more to tie Wilson’s total and three to top it.
Credit to defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who has unlocked Adams’ pass-rushing ability. Adams is blitzing more from the edge than he’s ever done in his career and he’s getting consistent pressure on quarterbacks. He has nine quarterback hits to go along with his six sacks. Adams is enjoying the blitz packages and his role as the versatile safety in Williams’ scheme.Â
“The picks aren’t coming my way,” Adams said, pointing out his lone interception compared to his six sacks, “so I thought I’d do something different.”
Teams build identities off players like Adams. His swagger and skill blend seamless for what the Jets want to cultivate as they continue in the Gase-Douglas era. Adams provides the figurehead on defense next to Darnold on offense and to take that away for a couple of draft picks is a useless long-term play that detracts from any promising future the team may have.
But it will cost the Jets to keep Adams. A lot. Landon Collins and Kevin Byard each signed a contract this past offseason that pays them $14 million and $14.1 million a year, respectively. Those will be the starting point for Adams.Â
He’s worth it.
You take away Adams and the Jets have no star on defense. No leader. No one who can terrorize quarterbacks and wide receivers alike. He is the heart and soul of the Jets defense and he’ll command a salary that recognizes that.
Christopher Johnson knows this. That’s why he told Adams he wants him to be a Jet for life. Douglas knows this even though he fielded trade calls for him less than a month ago. Gase definitely knows this and acknowledged Adams’ game-changing ability after the Redskins game.
“You feel him the whole game on the sideline [and] on the field,” Gase said. “He’s bringing everything he has. He’s just laying it all out there… It’s very impressive to watch him play. It’s as consistent as you can get, too. He’s making unbelievable plays week after week.”
The Jets don’t have many stars on their team. Darnold is still a work in progress, Quinnen Williams is young and who knows how long Le’Veon Bell and Robby Anderson will remain on the roster. Adams is the closest thing the Jets have to a face of the franchise, and they need to keep him around as long as possible.
