Jamal Adams and the New York Jets might (sadly) be better off apart

The future of Jamal Adams with the New York Jets is uncertain. One thing that is certain, however, is that things aren’t heading in the right direction.

For well over a week, Adams has not only been taking shots at the organization but has some aired dirty laundry about his contract situation. It started with claiming that the Jets promised him a long-term contract offer in January, something which he says has yet to come. Then reports surfaced that he wanted a trade, his posts on social media backing this up. Now he was caught on video saying he was trying to get moved to his hometown Dallas Cowboys.

All of a sudden, things are bad between the top player on the Jets and management.

Adams either wants out over his frustration at the pace of talks in getting a new deal or he is using this as leverage to land a new deal. An All-Pro a season ago, Adams is looking for a deal that would make him the highest-paid safety in the NFL. He is a dominant defensive player, arguably one of the best if not the best in the league and he is deserving of a loaded new contract. The Jets are in no rush, however, as Adams is in the fourth season of his five-year rookie contract.

Two franchise tags potentially remain as well.

Throughout this offseason, general manager Joe Douglas has made it abundantly clear through his signings that he will not overpay or deviate from his evaluations of a player. In late February, Douglas said that he wants to sign his only Pro Bowl selection last year to a long-term contract. Adams and his own valuation must now be reconciled against what Jets management sees as their best value and course of action moving forward.

It is all part of the dance in hammering out a new contract. Now, however, it appears that things are splintering apart.

Adams has posted on Twitter about his disbelief that Myles Garrett and Christian McCaffrey, fellow first round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, already have long-term deals with the teams that drafted them. It is clear that he values if not downright craves this same type of an investment from the Jets.

The organization, meanwhile, has shown a willingness towards restrained spending and while they undoubtedly would like to keep Adams long term, anything above the valuation on his worth could severely hamper the Jets salary cap situation moving forward.

It is easy, perhaps, to look at the Jets 2019 season and see a 7-9 record and be deceived into thinking this team is close to completing their rebuild and being ready for the playoffs. A solid offseason highlighted by a sneaky good NFL Draft can only add to that sentiment.

But the Jets won’t arrive in 2020, they still have too many holes and much upgrading to do. There is also a long-term deal looming for quarterback Sam Darnold down the road.

A safety, even one as talented as Adams, might simply not be the right player at this time for the Jets. And Adams deserves a payday, one that will shatter the record for a safety.

From the organization's perspective, if Adams can net the Jets multiple draft picks including at least one first round pick and save the team the investment of $15 million (or more) per year against the salary cap, it might be that Adams has played his last game in Jets’ green.