Jamal Adams has made no secret about wanting a new contract from the New York Jets, and is pushing for a trade because he hasn’t gotten one yet. The degree to which he’s pushing for it with two years left on his rookie deal, however, is somewhat unusual.
There may be a reason for Adams’ aggressive push for a new deal. According to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington in an appearance on Sportscenter Saturday, the Jets safety may be taking into account what happened to his father George, a former NFL running back.
“His father, George Adams, who he is very close to was drafted by the New York Giants in 1985 as a first-round pick,” Darlington said, via Jaylon Thompson of 247 Sports. “The next year in training camp, after having a pretty solid rookie season, he suffered a severe hip injury that ultimately ended his career. George Adams has since had two hip replacement surgeries. He never got paid, essentially, the big dollars for his NFL career. Jamal Adams looks at that situation and says ‘I need to get paid as soon as I can because you never know when this game is taken away from you.’”
George Adams tallied 887 yards from scrimmage in 1985 to go with four total touchdowns. After missing the entire 1986 season, he never came particularly close to reaching those numbers again, and was out of the game before he turned 30.
With that in mind, Jamal’s desire for a new deal is understandable. He’s already become one of the game’s best safeties, and will get paid at some point. He just wants that point to be now so nothing happens to him before the contract comes his way.
Interestingly, Adams would reportedly play for one of his preferred trade destinations even without an extension. That suggests that while these concerns may be true, the issues between him and the Jets run a lot deeper.
