Jamal Adams is back in the news, with the safety struggling to get a deal done with the New York Jets, Yahoo! reporter Charles Robinson. If these contract negotiations continue to go poorly, the Jets may grow willing to hear out trade offers.
The Jets aren’t shopping Adams, according to Robinson. They’re also clearly not hanging up on anyone who calls. But the Jets are asking for a first- and third-round pick for Adams, which would be a bigger haul than the compensation for cornerback Jalen Ramsey (who netted a first- and fourth-round pick). Though Adams is arguably better at his position than Ramsey, the trade market for a safety must be less robust than that for a cornerback.
So perhaps, if Adams moves, it’ll be for a first-round pick. Here’s who might be willing to part ways with that kind of capital to add Adams and give him a contract extension.
1. Dallas Cowboys
They seemed like an obvious candidate to draft a safety in the first round this year, but instead they went with receiver CeeDee Lamb, who stunningly fell to them at 17th overall. So Dallas actually exited the draft without upgrading the position, which is a dire need. Maybe the Cowboys will consider putting receiver Michael Gallup on the table. (The Jets need help at receiver, after all.) Maybe they’ll give up their 2021 first-round pick. But Adams joining Dallas makes sense on paper.
2. Cincinnati Bengals
Maybe the Bengals can put a 2021 second- and 2022 third-round pick on the table for Adams. It’s likely Cincy is picking atop the 2021 NFL Draft, so a first-round pick is too much to give up. But if the Jets and Bengals can agree on proper compensation, then Cincy might be happy to upgrade their strong safety position, because Shawn Williams isn’t cutting it.
3. Tennessee Titans
Titans safety Kenny Vaccaro was actually quite disappointing for the Titans in 2020, so it’s easy to imagine coach Mike Vrabel would push GM Jon Robinson to trade for Adams. Tennessee probably thinks they’ll be picking in the bottom of the first round in 2021. And though the Titans spent big money on quarterback Ryan Tannehill and running back Derrick Henry, they still have $20 million to spend this offseason. Adams would be a worthwhile investment.
4. Houston Texans
Most of what I just wrote about the Titans is true of the Texans. They don’t have a good strong safety. They have just enough cap space ($18 million) to feel good about adding and extending Adams. And they expect to pick between 25th and 32nd overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. The only hitch for Houston: they need to extend quarterback Deshaun Watson. A big deal for Adams won’t simplify their negotiations with Watson. Extending him trumps any hypothetical deal for Adams.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Here’s a slightly tricky one. The Bucs just drafted safety Antoine Winfield in the second round, but they have coach Todd Bowles, who was in place when the Jets drafted Adams. It’s easy to imagine they’d like to work together again. I just don’t know if Tampa would be willing to give up the proper draft capital after making an investment at the position.
6. Philadelphia Eagles
The Chiefs and Eagles’ secondaries looked horrific in 2018. Kansas City made big changes, and big investments in their secondary and won a Super Bowl. The Eagles did not, and looked like a mess on the back end all season. If Philly is waffling up upgrading their strong safety position — which is a mess — then they need only look at what the Chiefs did with Tyrann Mathieu in 2019. Adams could bring that same game-changing talent to add to the addition of cornerback Darrius Slay.
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