Making sense of the Dallas Cowboys trade interest in Jamal Adams (hint, it is due diligence)
Jamal Adams isn’t on the trading block. But if the New York Jets safety were available, the Dallas Cowboys apparently are ready to make a move.
In a story as well as a tweet on the subject, veteran reporter Mike Fisher, who covers the Cowboys for SportsIllustrated.com at ‘Cowboy Maven,’ reports that Dallas mantains strong interest in Adams. This is to the point, Fisher writes, that the Cowboys could once again approach the Jets about a trade.
Last fall prior to the NFL trade deadline, the Cowboys were reported to have approached the Jets about making a deal.
Jets general manager Joe Douglas, after the deadline, told the media that at no time were the Jets shopping their Pro Bowl safety. It was merely a matter of due diligence to listen and vet the offer.
Now all of this is assuming that the Jets and Adams come to an impasse on a contract extension. And Fisher never claims that the Jets are looking to move Adams or that the Cowboys are ready to come in with an offer.
The Cowboys are interested in a great player. This isn't shocking. It also doesn't mean that a move is imminent or even probable. It means that the Cowboys are being smart and open to making a move should an opportunity present itself.
It likely won't, though.
Adams is in the fourth year of his rookie contract, which runs through the 2021 season. In order to avoid a holdout, the Jets would like to get Adams under contract in the next few weeks and avoid the issue of their only Pro Bowl player missing offseason workouts or even training camp.
At the NFL Combine in February, Douglas made it clear that he wants Adams back and would like to keep him long-term, going so far as to say that the safety should be a member of the Jets for life. That is high praise and likely indicative that that the organization has counted the cost of keeping Adams – likely making him the top-paid safety in the NFL – and have determined that he is worth such an investment.
Late this past season, in the midst of the Jets winning six games in the second half of the season to finish 7-9, Adams said he liked the direction of the team’s rebuild.
It does not seem that Adams currently wants out from the Jets, given that a pricey extension could be forthcoming in the next couple of months. And Adams would most probably be sounding off on social media where he is quite vocal if he wanted a move out of New York.
This reporting by Fisher merely seems like the Cowboys being ready to pounce, certainly to be expected given the quality of the player, should something go awry with contract extension talks between the Jets and Adams. The willingness of the Jets to move Adams just doesn’t seem there based off the recent comments by Douglas.
So no, the Jets aren't ready to move Adams. But it'd be smart of them to get this deal done sooner rather than later to quiet all the unneccessary speculation and rumors.
