Speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine, New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas made public his desire to keep Jamal Adams in green.
If it’s up to New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas, superstar safety Jamal Adams will be back in green next season and for many, many more to come.
In statements made at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Douglas announced that not only does the team wish to ink the safety to a long-term deal, but that “preliminary talks have begun with Adams’ agent.
“Jamal is an unbelievable player,” Douglas said, per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “We’re excited about Jamal. The plan is for Jamal to be a Jet for life.”
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Adams, 24, is set to enter his fourth NFL season with the Jets. The sixth pick of the 2017 draft has earned two All-Pro and Pro Bowl nominations over his first three years of his career. Last season, Adams earned 75 tackles and 6.5 sacks. He also scored the first two touchdowns of his career, the first via an interception return against New England in September. The other would come on a fumble he forced against the New York Giants in November.
The firm statements of Douglas contrast last fall’s chaos. With the Jets wallowing in what became a 1-7 start to the season, Adams’ name reportedly surfaced in potential deals at the trade deadline. The Dallas Cowboys were particularly interested in his services. Now, Douglas has publicly placed the Jets on a road to signing Adams long-term.
“I’m not going to get into specifics of (the preliminary talks). But again, the plan is for Jamal to be here a long time,” Douglas said.
Adams is entering the fourth year of his original rookie contract, a four-year, $22.2 million deal. The Jets have a fifth-year option on the safety as well.
The question now becomes how much it will take to keep Adams in the metropolitan area. Chicago’s Eddie Jackson is the highest-paid safety annually at $14.6 million. Former Giant Landon Collins of Washington has the most expensive overall contract at $84 million over six seasons.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
