EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – NOVEMBER 24: Strong safety Jamal Adams #33 of the New York Jets celebrates with free safety Marcus Maye #20 after a sack during the second half of the game against the Oakland Raiders at MetLife Stadium on November 24, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
The New York Jets-Jamal Adams drama isn’t over, but Adams himself thinks it is.
It’s a fact Jamal Adams has no longer has any interest in playing for the New York Jets.
It’s also a fact that he’s legally under contract with them for two more seasons. With no apparent momentum on the part of front Jets office boss Joe Douglas to hand him a fat contract extension, the prolific All-Pro safety can only control what he can control, right?
Well, to hear the man himself tell it on Monday, his tenure with Gang Green is already in the rearview.
Jamal Adams tweeted to Jets teammate Marcus Maye that “I’ma miss balling with u the most,” a suggestion he no longer considers himself a Jets player at all
(Say, does “U deserve everything coming your way” include that fake love Maye’s talking about? Hmmm.)
Emerging from the 2017 NFL Draft, the Jets surely thought they had the back end of their defense locked in for years to come with the addition of LSU strong safety Adams at No. 7 overall and Florida free safety Maye at No. 39. In short order, Adams was a Pro Bowler and arguably the most impactful safety in the game.
In just as short order, Adams is referring to his Jets employment in the past tense (and Maye has a troubling injury history after three NFL seasons).
And while a contract is a contract and the Jets have all the legal leverage here, it’s still hard to imagine them managing this standoff any worse. After all, Adams is almost certainly their most talented player. If anyone deserved special treatment, he did.
Nevertheless, here we are.
There’s no momentum for a potential trade to send the star safety to Dallas, but as long as he’s inventing his own reality, he may as well start looking for property in the Metroplex.
Perhaps to Adams, this is merely the power of positive thinking. Until an unforeseen breakthrough manifests itself, however, it’s just a big, stinking headache for the Jets.