After a seven-month contract dispute, the New York Jets agreed to trade safety safety Jamal Adams for the Seattle Seahawks for a package that includes first-round picks in each of the next two years.
The Seahawks will send safety Bradley McDougald first-round picks in 2021 and 2022 and a third-round pick in 2021 to New York in exchange for Adams and the Jets’ fourth-round pick in 2022. The deal is pending physical exams. .
The move came a month after Adams formally requested an exchange. For months, the Jets had no intention of changing him, sources said, but general manager Joe Douglas made a radical change.
Adams, 24, made it clear that he did not want to be part of the Jets, using social media to criticize the team and say goodbye to his teammates. In recent days, he attacked coach Adam Gase in an interview in the newspaper and owner Woody Johnson on Twitter. Team officials were enraged at his behavior, the sources said, creating acrimony between the two sides.
Frustrated by the lack of progress in the talks, Adams submitted a list to the Jets on June 18 of seven preferred business destinations. At that time, the Jets did not grant Adams’ agents permission to search for an exchange.
“Yes, I want Jamal on our team,” Gase said in late June, a week after the exchange request.
The Jets refused to compromise on a contract extension because Adams is signed through 2021, not counting a potential franchise tag in 2022. Sources say their goal is to outdo Eddie Jackson of the Chicago Bears ($ 14.6 million per year). as the highest paid in the league. safety. Adams averages $ 5.6 million on his rookie contract.
The Adams-Jets relationship quickly dissolved. On January 27, Adams tweeted, “I want to be in New York!” In the same tweet, he said he expected an extension before the start of the season. Less than four months later, the two sides disagreed.
In public, Douglas praised Adams at every turn, saying he wants to make him “a jet for life.” But at no time did the GM give a timeline for an extension. He postponed the talks until after the draft, and those discussions were not productive, a source said.
The Adams camp was frustrated by what it perceived to be broken promises and the Jets’ lack of communication, prompting the request for an exchange, the sources said.
In reality, Adams ‘relationship with management has been strained since last fall, when news leaked that the Jets had entertained the Dallas Cowboys’ trade offerings.
Frank Adams said he felt betrayed by Douglas, who was hired last June and did not select Adams. At the same time, Adams told his friends that he wanted to be dealt with by the Cowboys, sources said. He grew up in the Dallas area.
Adams did not speak to Douglas and Gase for about a week after the trade deadline controversy. The Jets were in damage control, insisting that they never seriously thought about changing it. The two sides finally settled their differences, with Adams proclaiming that he wanted to be a part of their long-term future.
The Jets will miss Adams on defense. In addition to McDougald, who played safely strong and free in his career, the Jets also have veteran and confident Matthias Farley, a former Indianapolis Colts starter who played on special teams last season for the Jets. Marcus Maye is free security.
Adams was his most dynamic player, an ardent leader who made two Pro Bowls in his first three seasons. Since joining the league in 2017, he has been in the top five among defenders in snapshots, tackles, sacks and forced fumbles. He is the first in catches (12) and tied for second in forced fumbles (six).
“I think it’s his world,” said defensive coordinator Gregg Williams on June 25. “I’ve had the opportunity to train a lot of really good players, some already in the Hall of Fame, many others who are going to enter the Hall of Fame. You will have a legitimate chance, stay healthy, to be one of those types of we’re all talking about. “
The blow to Adams is that he is not a ball hawk, just two interceptions in his career. While the Jets valued him as tremendous “box” security, an “incredible player,” Douglas said, they did not see him as a general force and did not want to hand out a contract that would establish the market.
.
