Joe Douglas Says He Wants Jamal Adams to be a New York Jet for Life
The top priority for the New York Jets this offseason is retaining safety Jamal Adams. It is the goal, general manager Joe Douglas said on Monday, for Adams to retire as a Jet.
That is likely to be a ways away for the 24-year old Adams, who emerged this past season as one of the best defensive players in the league.
Speaking to the media at the NFL Combine on Tuesday afternoon, the first question Douglas fielded was about Adams. It is understandable, given that Adams is the best safety in the league and coming off a season where he was dominant in nearly every facet of the game.
Adams is entering the fourth year of his rookie contract, making this an ideal time to get a long-term contract done before a possible holdout next summer. As the team’s only Pro Bowl selection a season ago, Adams is the unquestioned star of the Jets.
And Douglas didn’t shy away from saying that the Jets want to keep Adams within the building for the rest of his career.
“Jamal is an unbelievable player as we talked about at the end of season meeting,” Douglas told reporters on Tuesday.
“We’re excited about Jamal. The plan is for Jamal to be a Jet for life. We’ve had some preliminary talks with his agent, I’m not going to get into the specifics of that. But the plan is for Jamal to be here a long time.”
Around the NFL trade deadline last year, the Jets fielded requests from teams interested in making a deal for the star safety with the Dallas Cowboys reportedly among the organizations interested. At the time, Douglas made it clear that the Jets weren’t actively shopping Adams but merely doing their due diligence in taking the calls.
Any perceived slight between Adams and the organization has apparently been cleared up from the Jets taking calls from teams interested in making a trade for the player. The comments made by Douglas at the Combine show the Jets intentions to keep Adams long-term.
Adams in turn, has signaled that he is excited about the direction of the team.
In all likelihood, any contract given to Adams will make him the highest paid safety in the NFL. Last year, he had 61 tackles, seven passes defended, two forced fumbles and an interception.
