Pro Bowl safety Jamal Adams is not expected to participate in the New York Jets’ voluntary offseason program, and he may eventually hold out if he does not get a new contract. Adams would have very little leverage if he goes that route, however, and the Jets appear to be willing to let the situation play out.
All indications have been that Jets general manager Joe Douglas wants to re-sign Adams, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini. But unless Adams is willing to accept a team-friendly extension, Douglas and the Jets have very little incentive to pay the former first-round pick now. There are a number of reasons for that.
For starters, Adams still has two more years left on his rookie contract. He’s set to earn $3.5 million this season, and his deal contains a fifth-year option for 2021 that the Jets are going to pick up. Then there’s the franchise tag, so New York technically has Adams under team control for three more seasons. It’s never a good situation when one of your best players is unhappy, but there isn’t a whole lot Adams can do aside from stamping his feet.
Also, under the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement, a rookie loses an accrued season toward free agency if he doesn’t report to training camp on time. Adams could still hold out and hope that the accrued season won’t matter if he’s confident the Jets will eventually give him a new deal, but that would be a big risk for him.
Primarily because of those factors, Cimini believes the Jets are “content to slow-play this into 2021 unless Adams accepts a team-friendly deal.”
The Jets reportedly shopped Adams at the trade deadline last season, and the 24-year-old did not hide the fact that he was upset about it. Adams insisted he has quickly moved past the drama, but you can understand why he wants a new contract. He’s one of the best safeties in football and has made the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons.
