Jamal Adams has officially asked for a trade. While the New York Jets don’t have to trade him, there could be some enticing options on the table.
The New York Jets and Jamal Adams have been locked in a standoff all offseason. Adams reportedly wants a massive contract extension and the Jets don’t believe he should get it until next offseason.
This has caused tensions between the two parties and it seems the two are headed for a breakup. On Thursday afternoon, Jamal Adams requested a trade and handed the Jets a list of seven teams that he would accept a trade to.
This was a strong move by Adams who has little leverage at this point. He’s under contract for at least two more years and doesn’t have a no-trade clause. It’s hard to see how he’s going to be able to dictate where he ends up.
Not to mention that the Jets have no intention of trading Adams. According to multiple reports, nothing has changed for the Jets. They still want Adams to be a Jet for life and are still willing to make him the highest-paid safety in the NFL… in 2021.
If general manager Joe Douglas changes his mind and does deal Adams to one of his preferred seven teams, the deals could be interesting. If the price gets high enough Douglas could even get an offer he couldn’t refuse.
The Impossible
Houston Texans
The Texans don’t have the capital to trade for Jamal Adams. Bill O’Brien traded away the team’s first and second-round selections in 2021 as part of the Laremy Tunsil trade. With no draft capital to play with, they’d need to offer some serious young talent.
The issue is, outside of a few key positions, the Texans don’t have any. They aren’t going to trade star players like Deshaun Watson and Laremy Tunsil. They don’t have anything else worth taking.
Will Fuller could be an interesting get for the Jets, but that would be with premium draft picks attached. Without those, a deal would be impossible for the two sides.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles are in salary cap hell, to say the least. The team is currently scheduled to be nearly $51 million over the cap in 2021 per Over The Cap. It doesn’t seem possible that they could afford to extend Jamal Adams.
Adams would have to be willing to head to Philadelphia without an extension. Even then, they’d have to figure out how to fit another near $10 million into their cap space for 2021, which seems impossible.
Even if they could figure out the finances, a deal still doesn’t seem likely. The Eagles have the draft capital, but they lack any young talent the Jets would want. There’s no young pass rusher, cornerback, safety, or wide receiver on the team that would interest the Jets.
A deal with the Eagles would be complicated, messy, and seems downright impossible.
San Fransisco 49ers
The 49ers have cap issues of their own. They should have the cap space to extend a star player in 2021, but it won’t be Jamal Adams. The team is more focused on getting a deal done with the best tight end in football, George Kittle. There won’t be much more room in the ledger for an Adams extension after that.
Beyond that, the 49ers lack impact young players that they’d willingly give up. The Jets would love to add a player like Deebo Samuel and some premium draft picks, but it’s unlikely the 49ers would trade their No. 1 receiver.
Much like the Eagles, a deal would be complicated and messy. The salaries are an issue and the lack of talent would mean paying a premium in draft picks. John Lynch is known to collect draft picks, not trade them. It’s hard to imagine him changing course as their cap situation tightens.
The plausible
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs have some cap issues of their own to worry about. They don’t have much cap room as things stand and extending Chris Jones and Patrick Mahomes is only going to make things more difficult. That’s why a deal with KC seems unlikely, but it’s not impossible.
The Chiefs have one of the best young pass rushers in football. Chris Jones will be 26 entering this season and is currently on the franchise tag. He’s going to need an extension soon, potentially by the July 15 extension deadline. The Chiefs love Jones, but he could be used to improve the team in a different way that could save them money in the short term.
A trade that sees Adams sent to the Chiefs straight up for Jones would be one of the biggest blockbusters the NFL has seen this century. Two elite players swapping teams due to contract issues would be shocking.
It could make both teams better. The Chiefs pass defense is lacking. Tyrann Mathieu is exceptional, but their cornerbacks are weak. Adding Adams next to Mathieu could transform their defense.
For the Jets, adding one of the game’s premier pass rushers would be all they could ask for. They wouldn’t get any better return for Adams, so long as they could extend Jones.
As enticing as this is, it’s unlikely the Chiefs trade Jones. They could simply extend him and continue to role out one of the best pass-rushing units in the NFL. Why make major changes to a team that just won the Super Bowl?
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens are one of the teams known to have had an interest in Adams at the trade deadline. They reportedly offered a stronger package than the Dallas Cowboys. That likely means they offered more than just a first-round pick.
With Adams back on the block, the Ravens may revisit trade talks. They’re in a similar position to the Chiefs with one of their elite players, Matthew Judon. The star edge rusher is currently on the franchise tag with seemingly no extension on the horizon.
The issue is that Judon doesn’t have a history of success and his advanced stats don’t tell a pretty story. Judon had 9.5 sacks in 2019, a career-high, but he did so with incredibly low-pressure numbers. The only player to have a better sack to pressure rate in 2019 was Dante Fowler.
That usually means that the number of sacks isn’t repeatable. Think of Vic Beasley’s breakout 15.5 sack year. He had similar sack to pressure rates and it showed the rest of his career.
It would likely take Judon and a draft pick to pry Jamal Adams away from the Jets. Would the Ravens be willing to give Judon and a day-two pick for Adams? It doesn’t seem likely.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs are in a cap crunch, but they should be able to add Adams if he doesn’t request an extension right away. If Adams is willing to wait until 2021 to get paid, then the Bucs might have as good a shot as anyone at getting a deal done.
The Bucs have two ways of going about an Adams trade. They could center the deal around their franchise-tagged star edge rusher Shaq Barrett. A relative unknown until 2019, Barrett exploded to life with a league-leading 19.5 sacks. That’s more than he had in his first five years combined.
Considering he’s only had the one good season, it’s possible that the Jets view Adams as the more valuable piece. Would the Bucs be willing to deal their star edge rusher and a draft pick for Adams? It’s not likely, but it’s an offer that would likely blow away anything else on the table.
The other route the Bucs could go is centering a deal around O.J. Howard. The young receiving threat is coming off the worst season of his career. However, he’ll be just 26 and has shown elite potential when he can stay healthy.
If the Jets can pair him with Chris Herndon, they could have a deadly tight end duo that would help make up for the lack of receiving talent. Of course, Howard alone isn’t going to get a deal done.
It’ll likely cost something close to a first, a third, and Howard. That’s quite a big package for a team that is in win-now mode with future cap issues on the horizon, especially if they add Adams. Would they be comfortable giving up so much young talent for Adams? With such a short Super Bowl window they just might be crazy enough to do it.
The Contenders
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks love making big splashes. They’ve traded for a number of star players in the past — Percy Harvin, Jimmy Graham, Jadeveon Clowney, and Marshawn Lynch just to name a few. Jamal Adams could be the next name on that list.
General manager Jon Schneider is not averse to trading first-round picks. Adding that won’t be the issue, it’s what else goes into the deal. The Seahawks aren’t stacked on talent where the Jets need help.
Their cornerback situation isn’t great outside of Shaquill Griffin. That’s why they just traded for Quinton Dunbar this offseason. Their pass rush was one of the worst in the NFL in 2019, as was their offensive line. Their wide receivers are interesting, but it’s unlikely they’d be willing to trade Tyler Lockett or D.K. Metcalf.
Young cornerback Tre Flowers would be the guy the Jets should target. The Jets’ secondary is a mess and if Flowers continues to improve, he could be a part of the long-term solution.
He’s a decent No. 2 option now and if he continues to improve, he could be a No. 1 corner. Even if he doesn’t, adding a decent second option would be huge for a Jets roster that doesn’t have many decent options at corner.
A deal is there to be had with the Seahawks. It may not be a blockbuster, but a deal that sees the Jets get a first, third, and Flowers could fundamentally change the team’s future. The question is, are the Seahawks willing to offer such a big package?
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys have been mentioned with Jamal Adams since this saga began. That’s not going to change anytime soon. They have some cap issues that they need to work out, but a deal could be there.
If the Cowboys can find a way to sign Dak Prescott and leave room for an Adams extension, then they should have no issue putting together a package.
The Cowboys offered a first-round pick in 2019, so it seems likely they’d willingly do the same here. That’s not going to be enough on its own though.
The Jets will likely ask for multiple premium draft picks or a premium draft pick and a strong young player. The Cowboys just so happen to have exactly what the Jets are looking for, young wide receivers.
When the Cowboys took CeeDee Lamb at 17, it was one of the shocks of the first round. With Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup already on the roster, adding Lamb made little sense. They have the chance to clear that up in a Jamal Adams trade.
By offering a first-round pick and either CeeDee Lamb or Michael Gallup in a deal, the Cowboys should have the best offer for Adams. This is something they’d likely consider as well.
The Athletic’s Jon Machota believes the Cowboys would rather deal Gallup instead of a second-round pick in an Adams trade. Would they be willing to offer a first and Gallup though? That’s a high price to pay considering Gallup’s breakout 2019 season.
Maybe they’d rather give up Lamb who’s never played a snap in the NFL. The Cowboys would get to keep their established wide receiver and add an established safety, and all they’d give up are lottery tickets.
Either way, the Cowboys have the ingredients to put together a compelling offer if they’re willing to go high enough.
