Status of Benched New York Jets Defensive Star Clears Up ‘A Little More’

Two weeks ago New York Jets safety Tony Adams was benched before their game with the Indianapolis Colts.

No reason was given, not before the game or after the game.

Entering Sunday's game with the Seattle Seahawks, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said that Adams will play “a little more,” according to media around the team.

A little more, in this case, would be more than the zero snaps he played on defense due to the benching against Indianapolis.

It was a curious decision to say the least.

Starting safety Chuck Clark had just returned from injury and the expectation was that Clark and Adams would be in the defensive backfield together against the Colts.

When that didn't transpire Ulbrich addressed the benching on Monday after the game, but with little specificity.

"I'd rather not expand on that,” he said to reporters. He also said that “a lot of different things went into the decision.”

There was no indication that Adams was hurt, as he wasn’t on the injury report before the game and hasn’t been on the injury report this week.

But, last Tuesday, team owner Woody Johnson decided to fire general manager Joe Douglas, which set off a flurry of reporting about the behind-the-scenes drama at Florham Park.

The Athletic reported about Johnson’s increasing involvement in team decisions, including nixing trades and even suggesting that the coaching staff bench one of the team’s star players, which didn’t transpire.

Per their reporting, Johnson was, in part, behind Adams’ benching.

When Ulbrich talked to reporters to start the week of preparation for the Seattle game, he wouldn’t confirm or deny the report.

"Mr. Johnson and myself, we have great dialogue,” Ulbrich said. “We have consistent dialogue. We talk all the time and we have very honest conversations and I'd like to keep those conversations between the two of us."

Adams has missed some time due to injuries this season, as he missed two games after he suffered a hamstring injury. He returned for the Arizona game.

In that game against the Cardinals, he was one of the highest-producing defenders on the field, as he finished with 10 total tackles (five solo) in a game where New York missed 20 tackles for the second game this season.

He was undrafted in 2022 coming out of Illinois and the Jets signed him to a free-agent deal. He made the final roster coming out of the preseason and he appeared in 11 games and made one start.

His production took a jump last season as he played in 15 games and he finished with 83 tackles (55 solo) with five passes defended.